WHYTE'S THE CHRISTMAS SALE ART & COLLECTIBLES Ends 16 December 2020

201 188 Art O’Murnaghan (1875-1953) THE TAJIDAR - SACRED BIRD, CELTIC DESIGN ILLUSTRATION (c.1940) and SEASCAPE WOODCUT PRINT (1934) ink on card; (1); gouache over pencil on card; (1); woodcut; (1); (all unframed) the first titled lower centre; signed, titled and inscribed [Bird Parliament / Prospective Illustr. / Art Ó M]; woodcut signed and dated in the plate lower centre; inscribed in pencil verso in a later hand [Illustration by Art O’Murnaghan for proposed book; Parliament of Birds] 10.50 by 7.50in. (26.7 by 19.1cm) Provenance: Acquired from the artist by Harry G Tempest (1881-1964) of Dundalgan Press, Dundalk; Thence by family descent The following is an extract from Charles Tempest McCrea’s autobiography of H G Tempest (Tempest of Dundalgan, published 1988 by Dundalgan Press): “A dream which was nearly realized was a special printing of The Parliament of the Birds, a long poem by Edward FitzGerald of Omar Khayyam fame. This was to be a joint venture with his friend the art teacher Art O’Murnaghan, a defiant exercise in luxury intended to lighten the war gloom of 1940-41. They had the book planned even to the decoration on the calfskin binding, some of the blocks were actually made for O’Murnaghan’s illustrations and Harry had his compositor setting up the delicate Pastonchi 14 point type. Suddenly the supply of handmade paper ceased, all the warehouse stock had been lost in a London bombing raid. The project was never taken up again ...” These two illustrations, dating to around 1940, and the black and white woodcut print, were intended for this proposed publication of ‘Bird Parliament’, which was translated by Edward FitzGerald and written by Farid Ud-din Attar. Between 1924 and 1951, one of the most brilliant works of visual art of the Celtic Revival - entitled Leabhar na hAiséirghe or The Book of the Resurrection - was created by Ó Murnaghan. The 27 vellum pages of the illuminated manuscript were intended to honour the memory of those who had died during the Irish independence struggle and the Civil War. This masterpiece can be found in the collection of the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. In 2006, after decades of obscurity, the museum held the first public exhibition of Ó Murnaghan life’s work as part of their ‘The Easter Rising: Understanding 1916’ exhibition. €1,500-€2,000 (£1,340-£1,790 approx.) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot188