146 / 250
120
Edmond Delrenne (Belgian, fl.1915-18)
HENRY STREET, DUBLIN, DURING THE 1916 RISING
oil on canvas
signed and dated [1917] lower left; remains of inscribed labels on reverse; with partial framing label of the Dawson Gal-
lery [Dublin]; label of Millar and Beatty House Furnishers [Grafton Street, Dublin] beneath stretcher
24 x 20in. (60.96 x 50.80cm)
Provenance:
Whyte’s, 9 April 2006, lot 128;Private collection
Literature:
Milligan, Kathryn, ‘Edmond Delrenne Witness to 1916’, Irish Arts Review, Winter, 2015, p.559 (illustrated)
Edmond Delrenne was a Belgian refugee who seems to have arrived in Dublin circa 1914 and remained here throughout
the First World War. He exhibited four war scenes at the RHA in 1915 and 1916, giving his address as care of Dermod
O’Brien, then newly elected President of the RHA. O’Brien evidently bought some of Delrenne’s work, for a watercolour
depicting The Ruins of O’Connell St., Dublin, in 1916 was amongst his estate and presented to the NGI by his son, Dr
Brendan O’Brien, in 1982 (NGI 18,486). As with the present work, Nelson’s Column on O’Connell Street is clearly visible
amongst the rubble. This is an extremely rare contemporaneous painting of Dublin in the immediate aftermath of
the Rising According to Dr Brendan O’Brien, son of Dermod O’Brien RHA, Delrenne was given hospitality by Dermod
O’Brien at Cahirmoyle, Co. Limerick. He also stated that Delrenne was in Dublin at the time of the 1916 Easter Rising and,
when standing in a doorway, a man beside him was killed by a stray bullet. (Adrian le Harivel & Michael Wynne (editors)
National Gallery of Ireland Acquisitions 1982-1983, published NGI 1984). For further reading see Kathryn Milligan’s article,
‘Edmond Delrenne Witness to 1916’, in the winter edition of the Irish Arts Review, 2015.
€8000-€10000 (£6080-£7200 approx.)
Large Image & Place Bid Lot 120