WHYTE'S IRISH & INTERNATIONAL ART MONDAY 4 MARCH 2019 AT 6PM

128 Erskine Nicol ARA RSA (1825-1904) THE SHEBEEN, 1859 oil on canvas signed and dated lower right 10.25 by 15.50in. (26 by 39.4cm) Provenance: Whyte’s, 29 September 2008, lot 142; Whence purchased by the present owner Nicol exhibited `A Shebeen House’ at the RA in London in 1858. This work was most likely the result of a favourable reception to the earlier composition. A shebeen (Irish = ‘síbín) is an illicit, unlicensed, bar or drinking club. Origination is Irish but the term is used in Scotland, the Caribbean and Southern Africa. In South Africa some shebeens, set up in the townships, have been legalised but still carry the epithet. The shebeen depicted in this painting is in a solidly built thatched house, unlike another painting by Nicol which was of a more temporary structure thought to have been at Donnybrook Fair. Food was served at this drinking house as evidenced by the server on the left, and the rabbit hanging from the rafters. The sight of clothes hanging indicate that this was also a home to the proprietor, and there is the feel of a private party. Entertainment is provided by an uileann piper and everyone seems to be in a jolly humour, including the woman in the foreground left, who is either distracted by the talk at the nearest table, or drunk, as she is attempting to pour water into a kettle, but completely missing the vessel. The whole scene is qute comical but not as disparaging as some of the other popular images of the Irish at this time, including some by Nicol. Nicol’s attention to detail in the clothes, the furniture and surroundings, are typical, and are a most useful and accurate depiction of the life of much of rural Ireland in the mid 19th century. Interestingly this painting, about ten years after the Famine, shows, in the clothing of the apparently well-fed people, a degree of prosperity not seen in other paintings of shebeens of this period. €8000-€10000 (£7,020-£8,770 approx.) Click Here for Large Images & To Bid Lot 128