IRISH & INTERNATIONAL ART 28 September 2026

26 17 Aloysius C. O’Kelly (1853-1936) ENTERING THE GATE oil on canvas signed lower right 20 by 14in. (50.8 by 35.6cm) Frame Size: 27 by 21.5in. (68.6 by 54.6cm) Provenance: Whyte’s, 18 November 2003, lot 52; Private collection Aloysius O’Kelly did a series of desert scenes, including On the Arabian Desert, On the Desert, Arab Caravan on the Move and, one of the most important works of his entire output, the Harem Guard. Sketchier in finish than the highly polished Harem Guard, Entering the Gate includes the two forward figures on the camel and horse from the left of the completed painting, and is clearly a preliminary work. The caravan through the desert and the harem guard are classic Orientalist subjects. From such paintings, it is evident that O’Kelly was familiar with the work of Gérôme, Girardet and Guillaumet. The compositional echoes are unmistakable. The Harem Guard is composed on a diagonal axis. One of the leading warriors in the front carries a lance and wears a musket slung across his back; the horse-back rider beside him rides a horse with a colourful fringed livery of tassels. It is these two figures who feature in Entering the Gate. Dr Niamh O’Sullivan, Professor Emerita of Visual Culture (National College of Art and Design Ireland) Founding Curator of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, Quinnipiac University €10,000-€15,000 (£8,550-£12,820 approx.) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot17