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Leo Whelan RHA (1892-1956)
OUR LADY QUEEN OF IRELAND, 1933
signed colour print
signed in pencil in the margin and signed in the plate lower right; with title printed lower centre and a
message from His Holiness, Pope Pius XI printed lower right and dated Sunday June 26, 1932
12¼ x 10¼in. (31.12 x 26.04cm)
In its original frame of M.H. Gill O’Connell Street Dublin. The oil of Our Lady, Queen of Ireland was
commissioned by the Gill family of Dublin - owners of the publishing company, which later became Gill and
Macmillan. The model for Our Lady was Sarah (‘Sally’) Byrne (later Deale), a student of Seán Keating’s at
the College of Art and later a staff member there. Her portrait was widely painted by her contemporaries at
the time, including Keating whose son Justin was the model for the figure of the child in the present work.
Justin later became a Labour Party minister in the 1970s government of Liam Cosgrave. In his article -
Taking a politician unawares - for the Irish Times on June 16, 2012 Michael Parsons reflected on the artwork
commissioned for the 31st International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin 80 years ago and focused on the
present work. Parson’s noted that, “According to the Catholic Bulletin, a framed print [similar to the present
example we can assume] was presented to Pope Pius XI in the Vatican in 1934 and the artist was praised for
depicting the “Madonna”, for the first time, with “Gaelic features”.”
Estimate €400-€600 (£350-£520)
Large Image & Place Bid Lot 139140
Lady Beatrice Glenavy RHA (1881-1970)
PRAYER FOR A LITTLE CHILD
handcoloured Cuala print
7¼ x 8¼in. (18.42 x 20.96cm)
Estimate €150-€250 (£130-£220)
Large Image & Place Bid Lot 140