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Lot 13: Margaret Clarke (née Crilley) RHA (1888-1961) DOUBLE PORTRAIT OF TWO GIRLS

Est: €20,000 EUR - €30,000 EURSold:
Whyte'sBallsbridge, IrelandMarch 04, 2019

Item Overview

Description

Margaret Clarke (née Crilley) RHA (1888-1961) DOUBLE PORTRAIT OF TWO GIRLS

Dimensions

h:39 w:33in.

Artist or Maker

Medium

oil on canvas

Provenance

Collection of Dr Karl Mullen, Kildare;
His sale Mealy's 2009;
Private collection

Notes

Born in 1884 in Newry, Co. Down, Margaret Clarke (neé Crilley) was awarded a Department of Art Scholarship to the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. There, fellow students and friends included Kathleen Fox, Seán Keating and her future husband Harry Clarke. She excelled at the DMSA winning numerous scholarships and prizes, and on completing her studies she became Orpen's teaching assistant and subsequently taught the life drawing class until 1919. Clarke first exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1913 and quickly established her artistic reputation with her portraits, subject paintings, landscapes, still-lifes and drawings. In 1927 she became the second woman artist to be elected a full constituent member of the RHA. In addition to the RHA Clarke exhibited widely both in Ireland and abroad, and she held two solo exhibitions (1924 and 1939). She was a founder member of the Irish Exhibition of Living Art. Throughout her career she was an active figure on the Irish art scene, a regular visitor to galleries and exhibitions, and generous in her encouragement of young artists.

The 2017 exhibition Margaret Clarke: An Independent Spirit (National Gallery of Ireland and the F.E. McWilliam and Studio) presented a welcome reappraisal of her work. Notable among the exhibits were several portraits ranging from candid portrayals of family members and friends to more formal but no less discerning portraits of figures from public life. Clarke was a remarkable portraitist in her insightful expression of a sitter's inner character.

The present portrait of two young girls appears to be a further instance of her thoughtful characterization. The girl seated in the armchair, with the open illustrated book, looks thoughtful, as if pondering something she has read. Her companion is intent on her doll, as if adjusting its clothing. This doll, with a blue and pink dress and blue hair bow, appears in The English Breakfast (1930), one of Clarke's Empire Marketing Board posters. The girls seem at ease in each other's company while absorbed in their own activities. A sense of quiet intimacy is reinforced in the setting, believed to be the Clarke home at 48 North Circular Road. A certain prominence is given to the bookcase, which Clarke also employed in her 1928 portrait of Éamon De Valera. In the present work the attention afforded to the books on the shelves, the open book and the two volumes on the floor is striking. The name 'Orpen' can be distinguished on a buff coloured book on the top shelf. The names 'Yeats' and 'AE' are visible on the spines of two books on the shelf below. On the bottom shelf is a volume with word 'L'Art' clearly legible on its damaged spine. The russet volume in the foreground is a copy of Lennox Robinson's play Crabbed youth and age, first performed in 1922 and first published by G.P. Putman's Sons in 1924. The cover illustration, of a dramatist manipulating his puppet characters, is by Harry Clarke. The books are indicative of the cultural milieu in which the Clarkes moved. Clarke herself was an avid reader and in a number of letters she recounted the delights of bookshops in Paris and Zwemmer's in London.
A provisional identification of the sitters might be proposed. The features of the girl in profile resemble those of the artist's daughter Ann (b. 1917) who modelled for individual portraits and also some of Clarke's subject paintings of the 1920s. Given the air of informality, in the setting of the Clarke home, the other girl might be a friend or perhaps a cousin, one of the daughters of the artist's sister Minnie who was married to Walter Clarke.

Carla Briggs
February 2019

Payment & Shipping

Payment

Accepted forms of payment: MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

The buyer will be responsible for all removal, storage and insurance charges in respect of any lot which has not been collected within fourteen days of the date of sale.

Auction Details

Irish & International Art 03/19

by
Whyte's
March 04, 2019, 06:00 PM GMT

Royal Dublin Society (RDS) Anglesea Road Entrance, Ballsbridge, Dublin, D04 HY94, IE

Terms

Buyer's Premium

24.6%

Bidding Increments

From:To:Increment:
€0€99€5
€100€299€10
€300€699€20
€700€1,299€50
€1,300€2,999€100
€3,000€6,999€200
€7,000€12,999€500
€13,000€29,999€1,000
€30,000€69,999€2,000
€70,000€129,999€5,000
€130,000+€10,000

Terms and Conditions of Sale Notice

Whyte & Sons Auctioneers Limited, trading as Whyte's, hereinafter called "the auctioneer" exercises all reasonable care to ensure that all descriptions are reliable and accurate, and that each item is genuine unless the contrary is indicated. However, the descriptions are not intended to be, are not and are not to be taken to be, statements of fact or representations of fact in relation to the lot. They are statements of the opinion of the auctioneers, and attention is particularly drawn to clause 5 set out below. Comments and opinions, which may be found in or on lots as labels, notes, lists, catalogue prices, or any other means of expression, do not constitute part of lot descriptions and are not to be taken as such unless they are made or specifically verified by the auctioneers. Clause 1 (a) Each lot is put up subject to any reserve price imposed by the vendor (b) Subject to sub-clause (a) of this clause, the highest bidder for each lot shall be the purchaser thereof (c) If any dispute arises as to the highest bidder the auctioneer shall have absolute discretion to determine the dispute and may put up again and re-sell the lot in respect of which the dispute arises. Clause 2 (a) The bidding and advances shall be regulated by and at the absolute discretion of the auctioneer and he shall have the right to refuse any bid or bids. NOTE: Where an agent bids, even on behalf of a disclosed client, the auctioneer nevertheless has the right at his discretion to refuse any such bid. (b) The purchaser of each lot shall immediately on its sale, if required by the auctioneer, give him the name and address of the purchaser and pay to the auctioneer at his discretion the whole or part of the purchase money. If the purchaser of any lot fails to comply with any such requirement the auctioneer may put up again and re-sell the lot; if upon such re-sale a lower price is obtained than was obtained on the first sale the purchaser in default on the first sale shall make good the difference in price and expenses of re-sale which shall become a debt due from him. (c) Where an agent purchases on behalf of an undisclosed client such agent shall be personally liable for payment of the purchase money to the auctioneer and for safe delivery of the lot to the said client. Clause 3 (a) The auctioneer reserves the rights to bid on behalf of clients including vendors, but shall not be liable for errors or omissions in executing instructions to bid. (b) The auctioneer reserves the rights, before or during a sale, to group together lots belonging to the same vendor, to split up and to withdraw any lot or lots at the auctioneer's absolute discretion and without giving any reason in any case. (c) The auctioneer acts as agent only, and therefore shall not be liable for any default of the purchaser or vendor. Clause 4 (a) Each lot shall be at the purchaser's risk from the fall of the hammer and shall be paid for in full before delivery and taken away at his expense within one day of the sale. The buyer will be responsible for all removal, storage and insurance charges in respect of any lot which has not been collected within one day of the date of sale. (b) If any purchaser fails to pay in full for any lot within 21 days of the date of sale such lot may at any time thereafter at the auctioneer's discretion be put up for sale by auction again or sold privately; if upon such re-sale a lower price is obtained than was obtained on the first sale the purchaser in default on the first sale shall make good the difference in price and the expenses of re-sale which shall become debt due from him. (c) Interest at 2 per cent per month and legal costs (if any) for recovery of monies due shall be payable by the purchaser on any overdue account. Clause 5 (a) All lots are made available for inspection before each sale and each buyer, by making a bid, acknowledges that he has satisfied himself as to the physical condition, age and catalogue description of each lot (including but not restricted to whether the lot is damaged or has been repaired or restored). (b) All lots are sold with all faults and imperfections and errors of description and the Auctioneer and its employees, servants or agents shall not be responsible for any error of description or for the condition or authenticity of any lot, save for Clause 5 (c) below. Written or verbal condition reports may be supplied by the Auctioneer on request but these are merely statements of opinion, and any error or omission in these reports may not be taken as grounds for a cancellation of sale or refund of any part of the purchase price or the cost of any repairs to the lot or lots reported on (c) A purchaser shall be at liberty to reject any lot if he - (i) gives the auctioneer written notice of intention to question the genuineness of the lot within seven days from the date of sale; AND (ii) proves that the lot is a deliberate forgery and (iii) returns to the auctioneer within 20 days from the date of sale the lot in the same condition as it was at the time of sale; provided that the auctioneer may, at his discretion, on receiving a request in writing from the purchaser, extend for a reasonable period the time for return of the lot to enable it to be submitted to expertisation. NOTE: The onus of proving a lot to be a deliberate forgery is on the purchaser. (d) Where a lot has been submitted to expertisation, all costs of such expertisation shall be paid by the person who retains the certificate of expertisation and item or items to which the certificate relates. (e) Where the purchaser of a lot discharges the onus and acts in accordance with sub-clause (b) of this clause, the auctioneer shall rescind the sale and repay to the purchaser the purchase money paid by him in respect of the lot. (f) No lot shall be rejected if, subsequent to the sale, it has been marked by an expert committee or treated by any other process unless the auctioneer's permission to subject the lot to such treatment has first been obtained in writing. (g) Any lot listed as a "collection, range, portfolio etc." or stated to comprise or contain a collection or range of items which are not described shall be put up for sale not subject to rejection and shall be taken by the purchaser with all (if any) faults, lack of genuineness and errors of description and numbers of items in the lot, and the purchaser shall have no right to reject the lot; except that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this sub-clause, where before a sale a person intending to bid at the sale gives notice in writing to, and satisfies the auctioneer that any such lot contains any item or items undescribed in the sale catalogue and that person specifically describes that item or those items in that notice, then that item or those items shall, as between the auctioneer and that person, to be taken to form part of the description of the lot. Clause 6 The respective rights and obligations of the parties shall be governed and interpreted by Irish law, and the buyer hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish Courts. SPECIAL CONDITIONS (a)The buyer shall pay the Auctioneer a commission at the rate of 24.6% (which includes VAT at the prevailing rate under The Margin Scheme and which is not reclaimable. A further charge of 3.69% including VAT applies to purchases made on-line.
(b) The Auctioneer or its employees, servants or agents may, on request organise packing and shipping of lots purchased or may order on the buyer's behalf third parties to pack or ship purchases. Under no circumstances does the Auctioneer accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever occasioned in the course of such service. (c) The buyer authorises the Auctioneer to use any photographs or illustrations of any lot purchased for any or all purposes as the Auctioneer may require. The placing of a bid will be taken as full agreement to all the above conditions. WHYTE & SONS AUCTIONEERS LIMITED 38 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2

VAT on Buyers Premium

The Buyer's Premium of 24.6% includes Margin Rate VAT of 23% which is not reclaimable and applies to all buyers both inside and outside the EU.

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We accept credit cards for payment for any winning online bidders at all sales (maximum value €500; charge of 2% applies). We do require credit card information to bid; this is only to confirm identity and address and will not be used for payment if you are the winning bidder.

Condition

Whyte & Sons Auctioneers Limited, trading as Whyte's, hereinafter called "the auctioneer" exercises all reasonable care to ensure that all descriptions are reliable and accurate, and that each item is genuine unless the contrary is indicated. However, the descriptions are not intended to be, are not and are not to be taken to be, statements of fact or representations of fact in relation to the lot. They are statements of the opinion of the auctioneers, and attention is particularly drawn to clause 5 in our full Terms & Conditions. Comments and opinions, which may be found in or on lots as labels, notes, lists, catalogue prices, or any other means of expression, do not constitute part of lot descriptions and are not to be taken as such unless they are made or specifically verified by the auctioneers.

Premium & Taxes

The buyer shall pay the Auctioneer a commission at the rate of 24.6% (which includes VAT at the prevailing rate under The Margin Scheme and which is not reclaimable). A further charge of 6.15% (which includes VAT at the prevailing rate) is made by Invaluable to on-line bidders; a reduced charge of 3.69% including VAT applies to purchases made by clients of Whyte's who bid through Whyte's website, whytes.ie

Payment

Each lot shall be paid for in full before delivery and taken away at his/her expense within seven days of the sale.

Shipping

The buyer will be responsible for all removal, storage and insurance charges in respect of any lot which has not been collected within fourteen days of the date of sale.