Louis le Brocquy
Louis le Brocquy was born in Dublin in 1916. Leaving Ireland in 1938 to study the major European art collections in London, Paris, Venice and Geneva, he returned in the 1940s where he participated in the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, departing for London in 1946 where he soon became prominent on the contemporary art scene. Later he began to exhibit internationally and - representing Ireland - won a major prize at the Venice Biennale in 1956. In 1958 he married fellow artist Anne Madden and left London to work in France.
He received an invitation, in December 1966, to collaborate with publisher Liam Miller on a new translation of Ireland's oldest saga, An Táin Bó Cúailnge. Accepting, le Brocquy spent much of the next three years visualising the project, before its publication in 1969. His lithographic brush drawings for The Táin were celebrated by critics, and would endure as one of the crowning achievements, and culturally significant artworks, of his career.
The artist would enjoy continuous acclaim throughout his long career, which spanned over six decades and can be broken up roughly into ten, sometimes overlapping, periods; the ‘Tinker’ (1945-1948), ‘Grey’ (1951-54) and ‘White’ (1956-66) periods, the ‘Ancestral’ (1964-75) and ‘Portrait’ (1975-2000) Heads, his series of Still Lifes (1981-1998), ‘Processions’ (1984-92) and ‘Irish Landscapes’ (1987-94), before his ‘Human Image’ (1996-05) and, finally, the ‘Homage’ (2005-06) series towards the end of his career and life.
Le Brocquy is recognised by many as one of the greatest Irish artists of the twentieth century, and one of the greatest of any era of Irish art. He was made Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1975 and received the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 2007. The realisation of over £1.7 million for his 1951 painting A Family at auction in 2000 was a record at the time for an Irish artist’s work, placing him among a very select group of British and Irish artists whose works have commanded in excess of £1 million in their lifetime, an acknowledgement of his illustrious profile in the art community internationally as well as at home. Le Brocquy died on 25 April 2012. Before his passing, he was the only artist to have received the distinctive honour of being included during his lifetime in the Permanent Irish Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. His works can be found in some of the world’s most important public collections including the Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
He received an invitation, in December 1966, to collaborate with publisher Liam Miller on a new translation of Ireland's oldest saga, An Táin Bó Cúailnge. Accepting, le Brocquy spent much of the next three years visualising the project, before its publication in 1969. His lithographic brush drawings for The Táin were celebrated by critics, and would endure as one of the crowning achievements, and culturally significant artworks, of his career.
The artist would enjoy continuous acclaim throughout his long career, which spanned over six decades and can be broken up roughly into ten, sometimes overlapping, periods; the ‘Tinker’ (1945-1948), ‘Grey’ (1951-54) and ‘White’ (1956-66) periods, the ‘Ancestral’ (1964-75) and ‘Portrait’ (1975-2000) Heads, his series of Still Lifes (1981-1998), ‘Processions’ (1984-92) and ‘Irish Landscapes’ (1987-94), before his ‘Human Image’ (1996-05) and, finally, the ‘Homage’ (2005-06) series towards the end of his career and life.
Le Brocquy is recognised by many as one of the greatest Irish artists of the twentieth century, and one of the greatest of any era of Irish art. He was made Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1975 and received the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 2007. The realisation of over £1.7 million for his 1951 painting A Family at auction in 2000 was a record at the time for an Irish artist’s work, placing him among a very select group of British and Irish artists whose works have commanded in excess of £1 million in their lifetime, an acknowledgement of his illustrious profile in the art community internationally as well as at home. Le Brocquy died on 25 April 2012. Before his passing, he was the only artist to have received the distinctive honour of being included during his lifetime in the Permanent Irish Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. His works can be found in some of the world’s most important public collections including the Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
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'HEAD OF STRINDBERG'
- Price Realised: €1,900
- Sale: 06 December 2008
- lithograph (no. 55 from an edition of 100)
- 77 by 57cm., 30.2 5 by 22.5in.
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'EIGHT IRISH PORTRAITS IN WORDS AND WATERCOLOUR, 1990'
- Price Realised: €1,900
- Sale: 06 December 2008
- offset lithograph prints (no. 548 from an edition of 1,000)
- 25 by 2045cm., 10 by 805in.
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'HEAD OF STRINDBERG - POSTER FOR BASLE ART FAIR, 1982'
- Price Realised: €1,900
- Sale: 10 December 2005
- chromolithograph on wove paper with screen printed text
- 80 by 50cm., 31.5 by 19.5in.
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'ILLUSTRATION TO THE TáIN (YELLOW)'
- Price Realised: €1,900
- Sale: 27 April 2004
- chromolithograph
- 38 by 53cm., 15 by 21in.
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'DOVE'
- Price Realised: €1,900
- Sale: 29 April 2003
- lithograph
- 51 by 66cm., 20 by 26in.
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'PÚCÁN, 1944'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 27 September 2021
- pencil
- 5¼ x 7in. (13.34 x 17.78cm)
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'HOUSES IN A LANDSCAPE, 1944'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 27 September 2021
- pencil
- 5½ x 6¾in. (13.97 x 17.15cm)
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'HEAD OF BECKETT, 1986'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 14 December 2020
- lithograph; (no. 18 from an edition of 100)
- 15¼ x 15½in. (38.74 x 39.37cm)
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'HAND, 1971'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 05 October 2020
- lithograph on handmade rag paper (no. 10 from an edition of 70)
- 15¾ x 13¼in. (40.01 x 33.66cm)
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'LEMON, 1974'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 28 September 2020
- aquatint; (no. 59 from an edition of 75)
- 16 x 16in. (40.64 x 40.64cm)
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'HAND, 1971'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 25 May 2020
- lithograph on handmade rag paper; (no. 11 from an edition of 70)
- 15¾ x 13¼in. (40.01 x 33.66cm)
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'THE TÁIN. PILLOW TALK, 1969'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 02 December 2019
- lithographic brush drawing; (no. 53 from an edition of 70)
- 14¾ x 21¼in. (37.47 x 53.98cm)
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'DUBLINERS by JAMES JOYCE [1986]'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 04 March 2019
- limited edition book; (no. 71 from an edition of 400)
- 11½ x 8in. (29.21 x 20.32cm)
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'IMAGE OF BONO [PINK] 2003'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 04 March 2019
- silkscreen; (no. 3 from an edition of 75)
- 27 x 22in. (68.58 x 55.88cm)
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'THE TÁIN. MACHA PLEADING, 1969'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 26 November 2018
- lithographic brush drawing; (no. 27 from an edition of 70)
- 21 x 14¾in. (53.34 x 37.47cm)
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'BONO (BLUE), 2003'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 29 February 2016
- silkscreen; (no. 28 from an edition of 75)
- 26½ x 21¾in. (67.31 x 55¼cm)
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'THE TÁIN. MEN AND HORSES, 1969'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 29 September 2014
- lithographic brush drawing; (no. 10 from an edition of 70)
- 21 by 15in., 52.5 by 37.5cm.
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'DUBLINERS by JAMES JOYCE [1986]'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 30 September 2013
- limited edition book; (no. 202 from 500)
- 11.25 by 7.75in., 28.125 by 19.375cm.
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'THE TÁIN. LEAPING WOLFHOUND, 1969'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 21 May 2012
- lithographic brush drawing (no. 68 from an edition of 70)
- 15 by 21.5in., 38.1 by 54.61cm.
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'JOHN MONTAGUE, 1981'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 17 May 2008
- collotype lithograph on Rives paper (no. 66 of 100)
- 33 by 28cm., 13 by 11in.
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'FRANCIS STUART, 1981'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 17 May 2008
- collotype lithograph on Rives paper (no. 66 of 100)
- 33 by 28cm., 13 by 11in.
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'JOHN MILLINGTON SYNGE, 1981'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- collotype lithograph on Rives paper (no. 66 from an edition of 100)
- 33 by 28cm., 13 by 11in.
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'THOMAS KINSELLA, 1981'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- collotype lithograph on Rives paper (no. 66 from an edition of 100)
- 33 by 28cm., 13 by 11in.
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'HEAD OF STRINDBERG'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 12 June 2005
- chromolithograph (no. 45 from an edition of 100)
- 77 by 58cm., 30.5 by 23in.
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'MYCENEAN GOLD MASK, 1974'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 12 June 2005
- aquatint on wove paper (no. 2 from an edition of 75)
- 41 by 41cm., 16 by 16in.
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'STUDY TOWARDS A HEAD OF SAMUEL BECKETT'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 17 February 2004
- aquatint on wove paper
- 39 by 39cm., 15.5 by 15.5in.
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'Samuel Beckett, Poems 1930-1989'
- Price Realised: €1,800
- Sale: 19 November 2002
- 0 by 0cm., by in.
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'HAND, 1971'
- Price Realised: €1,700
- Sale: 29 November 2021
- lithograph on handmade rag paper; (no. 19 from an edition of 70)
- 15¾ x 13¼in. (40.01 x 33.66cm)