WHYTE'S in association with CHRISTIE'S - The Ernie O'Malley Collection MONDAY 25 November 2019

110 54 Louis le Brocquy HRHA (1916-2012) TINKER DIVINER, 1945 oil on board signed and dated lower right 9 by 7in. (22.9 by 17.8cm) Provenance: Purchased by Helen Hooker O’Malley, circa 1945-47; Thence by family descent Tinker Diviner addresses a theme explored in a number of works by le Brocquy at this time. He spoke of the fear and suspicion generated by the Traveller’s alleged rapport with the interconnected forces of nature and magic. They made signs from twigs that could be read as prosaic messages, or as spells and curses, a capacity associated also with the divination of hidden water sources. According to the artist in describing this body of work: “They left ‘twig’ signs behind them and some of these were of a prosaic kind … But other signs were made to cast spells so that local farmers hesitated to disturb them.” (1) While such artistic interpretations could embody romantic, primitivist concepts, le Brocquy was primarily interested in understanding a way of life. The painting, Tinker Diviner depicts a monumental central figure, with white hair, apparently seated, and with defiant expression. The surround is indistinct but richly coloured, suggesting an outdoor setting in a dim, evening light within which the figure is highlighted; a thin stick connects the figure to the earth, seemingly marked with strange glyphs. Here, the artist combines what he understood as the legendary relationship between magic and nature associated then with Travellers, and the independent and assertive matriarch that he observed as a lynchpin in their social structure. Dr Yvonne Scott September 2019 1 . Discussion, Louis le Brocquy and Yvonne Scott, 2006, ibid. €15,000-€20,000 (£13,160-£17,540 approx.) Click Here for Large Images & To Bid Lot 54