43
WHYTES
SINCE 1783
,
63
Louis le Brocquy HRHA (1916-2012)
HEAD OF GIRL, 1947
watercolour and gouache over pen and ink on card
signed and dated lower right; with inscribed Solomon Gallery
label on reverse
7.50 by 5.75in. (19.05 by 14.61cm)
Provenance:
Solomon Gallery, Dublin;
Where purchased by the present owner in 1982
The naive charm of le Brocquy’s Tinker series has been recognised
as early as the 1950s when the
New York Herald’s
art critic Emily
Genauer applauded the artist’s ability to, “...invest his figure [in
reference to
A Young Irish Tinker Woman
] with great weight and
solidity, and still avoid any static, heavy immobility.Tinkers after all,
are alert and watchful and full of cunning. His most obvious device
for securing an air of vigilance was, of course, to make the eyes so
intense under their bold strong brows....” [
What’s New,
March 1952]
Le Brocquy first came in contact with the ‘Tinkers’ in 1945 near
Tullamore, County Offaly.There he recorded the lifestyle and
characters of Ireland’s marginalised community and many of the
sketches from this period were later worked up into larger oils such as
Tinkers Resting, 1946
(Tate Collection).
The present example dates to 1947. Here le Brocquy draws a
character full of sharp, angular features; a pointed chin, crooked
mouth and quizzical eyes. Although modest in size, a Picasso-esque
positioning of the figure’s features within a tight picture plane give
an immediacy to the work that commands attention.The only relief
offered from this can be found in the subtle palette and delicate line.
€
5,000-
€
7,000 (£4,270-£5,980 approx.)
