WHYTE'S IRISH & INTERNATIONAL ART 9 MARCH 2020

42 26 Roderic O’Conor (1860-1940) RECLININGWOMAN, c.1910 oil on canvas with artist’s atelier stamp on reverse 21.50 by 25.50in. (54.6 by 64.8cm) Provenance: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Vent O’Conor, 7 February 1956; Blache, Versailles, 9 March 1975, no.114; Private collection Christie’s and Hamilton & Hamilton Ltd., Castletown House, Co. Kildare, 29 May 1980, lot 125; Private collection; With the Oriel Gallery, Dublin; Where purchased by the present owner, 1981 Literature: Benington, Jonathan, Roderic O’Conor, Dublin, 1992, no.138, p.206-7 This painting of a clothed and reclining female model in an interior is revealing of those Expressionist skills which were such a strong feature of O’Conor’s Brittany seascapes. He painted this work early in the twentieth century in the rue du Cherche-Midi in the Montparnasse quartier of Paris, where he took a studio with living quarters. The directness of his working methods are clearly evident in this Expressionist work. He began with a preliminary staining of the canvas using a thinly diluted wash of oil paint. On top of this O’Conor literally drew with a brush well charged with paint to define the details of the figure and the environment in which she is posed. The composition of the painting introduces a horizontal division running from left to right, which is determined by the couch on which the woman is lying and the French credenza in the background. As a final touch, O’Conor includes several wine bottles on the credenza, their vertical emphasis reminding us of his penchant for the still life as subject matter. Dr. Roy Johnston February 2020 €15,000-€20,000 (£12,710-£16,950 approx.) Click Here for Large Images & To Bid Lot 26