Loading Spinner
Don’t miss out on items like this!

Sign up to get notified when similar items are available.

Lot 45: Seán Keating PPRHA HRA HRSA (1889-1977) THINKING OUT GOBNET [PORTRAIT OF HARRY CLARKE] 1917

Est: €50,000 EUR - €70,000 EURSold:
Whyte'sDublin, IrelandMay 31, 2021

Item Overview

Description

Seán Keating PPRHA HRA HRSA (1889-1977)
THINKING OUT GOBNET [PORTRAIT OF HARRY CLARKE] 1917
oil on canvas
signed, titled and with original price on handwritten label preserved on reverse; also dedicated [John Keating / To Harry Clarke / 29 Aug 1917] on the stretcher on reverse and in Irish script on canvas; with original Daniel Egan framing label
h:30  w:30 in.

Provenance:
A gift from the artist to Harry Clarke RHA (1889-1931);
Private collection;
James Adam & Bonhams, 7 December 2005, lot 78;
Private collection;
Whyte's, 1 October 2018, lot 26;
Private collection

Exhibited:
RHA, Dublin, 1918, catalogue no. 339 (Lent by Harry Clarke);
'The Arts and Crafts Movement: Making It Irish', McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, USA,
6 February to 5 June, 2016;
'Conflicting Visions in a Turbulent Age 1900–1916', Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, 3 June to 20 August 2016

Literature:
N., Gordon Bowe, The Life and Work of Harry Clarke, Dublin, 1989, plate no. 64;
Éimear O'Connor, Seán Keating: Art, Politics and Building the Irish Nation (Kildare: Irish Academic Press, 2013), pp. 63-4;
Éimear O'Connor, Conflicting Visions in a Turbulent Age 1900-1916, catalogue for eponymous exhibition, Crawford Art Gallery Cork (Cork: Crawford Art Gallery, 2016), pp. 60-1;
Éimear O'Connor, 'Harry Clarke and Seán Keating: Art, Inspiration and the Aran Islands' in R. Kennedy, A. Griffiths & M. Helmers (eds.), Harry Clarke and Artistic Visions of the New Irish State (Kildare: Irish Academic Press, forthcoming November 2018), chapter 5

Harry Clarke and Seán Keating met at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art in 1911. With interests in common they became friends and it was Clarke who introduced Keating to the Aran Islands in c.1912. While the islands had a profound effect on Keating's artistic identity, and he continued to visit until 1965, as it turned out Clarke made his final trip there in 1915, a few months after he began the commission for his series of eleven windows for the Honan Chapel, Cork. As St Gobnait is traditionally associated with Ballyvourney in Co. Cork and with the Aran Islands, Keating's painting offers evidence of the friendship between the two men and their mutual interest in the islands at the time. The painting simultaneously acknowledges Clarke's extraordinary ingenuity evident in his tour de force portrayal of St Gobnait which was installed in the Honan Chapel in 1916, but possibly 'thought out' during that last trip to Aran in 1915 with Keating at his side.

Yet Thinking out Gobnait is not simply an image of Clarke thinking about his work. It is an allegory drawn from a composite of the picturesque ruins of the ancient churches of Inis Oírr, and influenced in style by William Orpen's The Holy Well (1916: NGI). The painting shows Clarke sitting on a grave slab within the ruins of Teampall Chaomháin (St Kevin's church) on Inis Oírr, along with a holy water font at his feet, and a holy well to the bottom right of the image. The tree, known as the 'tree of Inisheer', had always been associated with St Gobnait and her church on the island Cill Ghobnait. Keating simply removed the tree from its original place and positioned it by Teampall Chaomháin, thereby introducing a simultaneous visual reference to Clarke's commission. But it is the depiction of Clarke on the grave slab in Teampall Chaomháin that denotes the crucial, though symbolic emphasis in Keating's portrayal of his friend. The church is traditionally associated with miraculous cures; those who lay on the grave slab were, apparently, healed. Clarke had not been well while 'thinking out Gobnait', and Keating suggests, perhaps, that all might be alright now that his friend had reclined on the miraculous grave slab. An inscription in old Irish and another in English on the reverse of the work, both in Keating's hand, reveal that he gifted the painting to Clarke in 1917. Anxious to be elected to the RHA, Keating borrowed the painting from Clarke to exhibit in the annual exhibition in 1918. He was elected an Associate of the Academy later that year.

Dr Éimear O'Connor HRHA
Resident Director, The Tyrone Guthrie Centre

Dimensions

h:30 w:30in.

Artist or Maker

Medium

oil on canvas

Condition Report

Overall very good and stable condition. Close examination reveals some very minor surface dirt. Stable drying cracks - likely to have occurred at the time of execution - visible in the lower right corner and to lower left, behind the upright slab, in dark brown paint only. No cracking, flaking or loss evident. Delicate areas of impasto in the trunk and branches of the tree are intact. The canvas is well tensioned. The picture appears to have been conserved in the past and possibly wax lined with some small spots of selective retouching to the upper left and centre visible under UV. The inscriptions verso, on the canvas and the stretcher, are both clearly legible and the original label is also preserved. The painting is presented unglazed in its Daniel Egan frame which has been restored and hand-finished in a matt black with muted a gold slip added.

Exhibited

RHA, Dublin, 1918, catalogue no. 339 (Lent by Harry Clarke);
'The Arts and Crafts Movement: Making It Irish', McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, USA,
6 February to 5 June, 2016;
'Conflicting Visions in a Turbulent Age 1900–1916', Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, 3 June to 20 August 2016

Literature

N., Gordon Bowe, The Life and Work of Harry Clarke, Dublin, 1989, plate no. 64;
Éimear O'Connor, Seán Keating: Art, Politics and Building the Irish Nation (Kildare: Irish Academic Press, 2013), pp. 63-4;
Éimear O'Connor, Conflicting Visions in a Turbulent Age 1900-1916, catalogue for eponymous exhibition, Crawford Art Gallery Cork (Cork: Crawford Art Gallery, 2016), pp. 60-1;
Éimear O'Connor, 'Harry Clarke and Seán Keating: Art, Inspiration and the Aran Islands' in R. Kennedy, A. Griffiths & M. Helmers (eds.), Harry Clarke and Artistic Visions of the New Irish State (Kildare: Irish Academic Press, forthcoming November 2018), chapter 5

Provenance

A gift from the artist to Harry Clarke RHA (1889-1931);
Private collection;
James Adam & Bonhams, 7 December 2005, lot 78;
Private collection;
Whyte's, 1 October 2018, lot 26;
Private collection

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

by
Whyte's
May 31, 2021, 06:00 PM GMT

38 Molesworth Street, Dublin, 2, IE

Terms

Buyer's Premium

20.0%

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.
(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

Credit Cards

We accept credit cards to a maximum value of €500 for payment for any winning online bidders at all sales 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.

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.

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). There is no extra charge for bidding on-line at Invaluable.or Whyte's.

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.