WHYTE'S IMPORTANT IRISH ART Monday 11 March 2024 at 6pm

98 70 Patrick Collins HRHA (1910-1994) BEYOND THE BOG, 1970 oil on board signed lower right; inscribed with artist, title, medium and dimensions on Tom Caldwell Galleries label on reverse 36 by 48in. (91.4 by 121.9cm) Frame Size: 41 by 53in. (104.1 by 134.6cm) Provenance: Caldwell Galleries, Dublin; Where purchased by Vincent Ferguson; Thence by descent; de Veres, 22 June 2021, lot 59; Private collection Exhibited: ‘Patrick Collins’, Tom Caldwell Galleries, Dublin & Belfast, July, 1979 Worried that his paintings began to suffer from sentimentality, Patrick Collins retreated from Dublin to Connemara at the end of the 1960s in a conscious effort to refresh his approach. Working for nine months in 1970 digging drainage ditches was the stimulus he needed, directly resulting in an important series of bog paintings, like this one. And because bogs are so closely associated with Ireland, they appealed to Collins as part of his search for subject matter that was truly indigenous. The renewed vigour found in this series came at a critical point in his development. He used a few strong shapes to anchor these austere compositions, stripping away inessentials with exceptional boldness. Beyond the Bog shows clearly how Collins returned to an elemental absorption with the land. The painting is focused on the bog, without a trace of trees, cows, or people. We feel its moisture, the wet density of it, the light and reflection of sky bouncing off the surface. The composition of Beyond the Bog is simple and powerful: a few strong bars set against empty space. A strong directional pull is established between the two verticals at either side and between the horizontal bars top and bottom, animating the space in between. The central ‘swish’ sets the composition in motion. Collins began his initial exploration of empty, or ‘negative’, space in the early 1960s but in the Bog paintings voids are used for even greater emotional effect. Collins wanted his empty spaces to “speak.” They certainly do that in Beyond the Bog, where loneliness and isolation are expressed with a touching poignancy. Dr Frances Ruane, HRHA February 2024 €15,000-€20,000 (£12,820-£17,090 approx.) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot70