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

89 82 Mike Fitzharris (b.1952) DECAYING FRESCO, CORFU, 1993 oil on mounted unstretched canvas signed and dated lower right 25 by 38in. (63.5 by 96.5cm) Frame: 35 by 46in. (88.9 by 116.8cm) Provenance: Purchased from the artist by the present owner While on holiday on the island of Corfu in 1993, Fitzharris was out walking in the hills and came across an old derelict Orthodox Church. The roof of the ruin had collapsed. When he entered, he was struck by the sight of the decay of the plaster fresco covered walls. On return to Ireland he composed this piece. He applied plaster Paris to the canvas, let it dry and then smashed it against the lamppost outside his studio. The colours used to complete the work reflect his memory of his visit. Michael Fitzharris was born in Limerick in 1952. He studied at the Limerick School of Art and graduated in 1973. Having completed his studies at the Limerick School of Art, Mike Fitzharris undertook post- graduate studies at Berlin’s renowned Hochschule f?r Bilden Kunst. In order to gain admittance to the college he was required to spend three days depicting the city of Potsdam in East Berlin. He completed a series of six drawings and on that basis he was accepted by this prestigious art school which was fundamental to his development as a painter. Fitzharris is quoted as saying, “There are many happy accidents in my work. Accidents help stimulate new things in the painting that I can latch onto and use to complete the picture. I have a very good idea about what I’m going to do before I start but I’m open to things happening that weren’t planned and that means every painting is interesting without exception”. One such happy accident was his visit to the Church in Corfu. €1,000-€1,500 (£890-£1,340 approx.) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot82