Lot 83: James Dixon (1887-1970) ''Mary driving the cattle

James Dixon (1887-1970) ''Mary driving the cattle home, the tide came in too soon and the poor girl got drowned'' Oil on board, 54 x 72.5cm (21_ x 28_'') Signed, dated 19-8-67, inscribed 'Tory Island' with legend Accompanied by a hand written poem relating to the painting thought to be in Dixon's hand Provenance: Bought by the current owner privately, early 1972 Exhibited: ''From Tory Island'' exhibition Paintings in Irish Houses Grange House , Freshford, Co. Kilkenny July 1972 . Literature : ''From Tory Island to a Kilkenny Farm'' by Elgy Gillispie, Irish Times 28th July 1972 illustrated. James Dixon is probably Ireland's only true primitive painter having very rarely ever ventured away from his native Tory Island off the Northwest coast of Donegal. His discovery by the painter Derek Hill is now legend. Observing Mr. Hill painting a landscape of the West End Village on Tory he is said to have remarked ''I think I could do better''. Hill immediately encouraged him by sending him paints. Dixon preferred to work on paper and when offered paint brushes he said he would make his own out of hair from his donkey. Hill organised exhibitions of the work of the Tory painters, the first of which took place at the New Gallery, Belfast in 1966 but following on shortly afterwards he had exhibitions at the Dawson Gallery, Dublin, Autodidaky Gallery, Vienna and the Portal Gallery, London. His work entered the collections of The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, The Hugh Lane Gallery and Bournemouth Art Gallery. His legacy lives on in what is now referred to as the Tory Island School of Painting. Homage was paid to him when in 2000 there was a joint exhibition with that other famous primitive painter Alfred Wallis, organised by the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall This work is very similar to a work in the Arts Council of Ireland collection which was included in the major exhibition ''Into the Light'' last autumn. This work is accompanied by a poem thought to be in Dixon's hand and both it and the painting are based on a poem by Charles Kingsley. Mary was lost to a great wave and legend has it that her voice will haunt the shoreline to the end of time, forever calling her cattle.