188 / 250
156
Christy Brown (1932-1981)
BUILDING TOPS, 1969
oil on board
signed and dated top right
20 x 36in. (50.80 x 91.44cm)
Provenance:
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner
Exhibited:
‘Dear Christy, The Christy Brown Collection’, Little Museum of Dublin, from 30 April 2015;’Dear Christy, The Christy Brown
Collection’, The American Irish Historical Society, New York, 11-24 November 2015
Christy Brown was brilliantly played by Daniel Day-Lewis in the Oscar-winning film My Left Foot. But the complexities
of his life, together with his struggle to be understood - and taken seriously - have only recently come to light. Those
complexities were explored in a superb exhibition at the Little Museum of Dublin in 2015. The exhibition later travelled
to New York where it went on view at the American Irish Historical Society on 5th Avenue from 11 to 24 November.
The exhibitions were hugely popular with lovers of literature, history and Irish culture and explored the struggles of
Brown as a child, and the way his family inspired him to create remarkable paintings, a classic memoir, four novels and
four collections of poetry - all with his left foot. The majority of the works by Christy Brown in this sale were included in
these shows. All works (lots 155-167) come from of a single owner collection and were gifted to the present owner from
the artist. This unique collection offers both collectors of Brown’s oeuvre and art aficionados an opportunity to acquire
rare and desirable visual records from the life of this inspirational figure.
€2000-€3000 (£1520-£2160 approx.)
Large Image & Place Bid Lot 156