WHYTE'S IMPORTANT IRISH ART MONDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2024 AT 6PM

42 24 William Conor OBE RHA RUA ROI (1881-1968) BY LOUGH BEAG, COUNTY ANTRIM oil on board signed lower left; inscribed on label on reverse 16 by 20in. (40.6 by 50.8cm) Frame Size: 21 by 25in. (53.3 by 63.5cm) Perhaps best known as the great artistic chronicler of working class life in Northern Ireland, William Conor apprenticed as a lithographer after leaving art school but was determined to be an artist. This exceptional work sees him in a notably sunny mood. The little lake of the title is north of the vast Lough Neagh. There is a small island on the lake, as there is in the middle distance of this painting. However, in reality the surrounding topography is rather less dramatic than the fine mountainous prospect that Conor paints here. That is not unusual for him: he was well known for making studies of figures (and animals) and keeping them until he found a background that he felt suited them. Given his lithographic training, it is not surprising that he was a technically skilled and adventurous painter, as well as being an outstanding draughtsman. He quickly mastered an authoritative, broad-brushed approach with oil, often with passages of impasto, that is very evident here. His treatment of the figure is a model of eloquent economy, and the background landscape, while far from Lough Neagh (it more closely resembles the West) is beautifully and sensitively painted, with finely judged colouring. Conor, a central figure in Belfast’s cultural life for many decades, was an immensely capable and versatile artist who worked across a range of genres with ease, including portraiture and, especially, urban life and scenes. The Ulster Museum has a particularly good representative collection of his work. Aidan Dunne, September 2023 €12,000-€18,000 (£10,080-£15,130 approx.) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot24