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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'IMAGE IN DARKNESS'
- Price Realised: €1,300
- Sale: 09 March 2020
- Intaglio print on paper; (no. 56 from an edition of 75)
- 15½ x 15½in. (39.37 x 39.37cm)
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'THE TÁIN. WARRIOR KILLED, 1969'
- Price Realised: €1,300
- Sale: 02 December 2019
- lithographic brush drawing; (no. 27 from an edition of 70)
- 15 x 21in. (38.10 x 53.34cm)
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'STUDY TOWARDS AN IMAGE OF W. B. YEATS'
- Price Realised: €1,300
- Sale: 27 May 2019
- aquatint; (no. 13 from an edition of 30)
- 19½ x 17½in. (49.53 x 44.45cm)
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'WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS, 1981'
- Price Realised: €1,300
- Sale: 02 October 2017
- collotype lithograph on Rives paper; (no. 34 from an edition of 100)
- 12½ x 10½in. (31¾ x 26.67cm)
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'THE TÁIN. MEN AND HORSES, 1969'
- Price Realised: €1,300
- Sale: 25 May 2015
- lithographic brush drawing; (no. 10 from an edition of 70)
- 21 x 15in. (53.34 x 38.10cm)
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'EIGHT PORTRAITS IN WORDS AND WATERCOLOUR, 1990'
- Price Realised: €1,300
- Sale: 21 May 2012
- off-set lithograph print (no. 0091 from an edition of 1000)
- 10.5 by 9in., 26.67 by 22.86cm.
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'IMAGE OF SELF, 1993'
- Price Realised: €1,250
- Sale: 06 March 2023
- lithograph on Rives paper; (no. 77 from an edition of 100)
- 8½ x 5½in. (21.59 x 13.97cm)
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'HEAD OF BECKETT, 1979'
- Price Realised: €1,250
- Sale: 27 September 2021
- aquatint in colours; (no. 4 from a Hors Commerce edition of 10)
- 15¼ x 15¾in. (38.74 x 40.01cm)
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'MYCENEAN GOLD MASK, 1974'
- Price Realised: €1,250
- Sale: 01 March 2021
- Intaglio print on paper; (no. 59 from an edition of 75)
- 15½ x 15½in. (39.37 x 39.37cm)
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'SAMUEL BECKETT, 1988'
- Price Realised: €1,250
- Sale: 09 July 2018
- lithograph; (artist's proof); (no. 3 from an edition of 4)
- 14½ x 11½in. (36.83 x 29.21cm)
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'HEAD OF STRINDBERG'
- Price Realised: €1,250
- Sale: 02 October 2017
- lithograph; (no. 79 from an edition of 100)
- 30 x 22½in. (76.20 x 57.15cm)
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'HEAD OF SAMUEL BECKETT, 1986'
- Price Realised: €1,250
- Sale: 30 May 2016
- lithograph; (no. 53 from edition of 100)
- 15¼ x 15¼in. (38.74 x 38.74cm)
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'THE TÁIN. THE LION, 1969'
- Price Realised: €1,250
- 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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'SELF PORTRAIT, 1947'
- Price Realised: €1,200
- Sale: 25 May 2020
- aquatint; (no. 23 from an edition of 75)
- 7¼ x 6½in. (18.42 x 16.51cm)
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'STUDY TOWARDS AN IMAGE OF W. B. YEATS'
- Price Realised: €1,200
- Sale: 02 December 2019
- aquatint with drypoint (no. 29 from an edition of 30)
- 19½ x 17½in. (49.53 x 44.45cm)
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'STUDY TOWARDS AN IMAGE OF W. B. YEATS, 1975'
- Price Realised: €1,200
- Sale: 02 December 2019
- aquatint on Arches paper; (no. 54 from an image of 100)
- 19½ x 17½in. (49.53 x 44.45cm)
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'ENCLOSED FIELD, BEARA, 1988'
- Price Realised: €1,200
- Sale: 02 December 2019
- lithograph (no. 13 from an edition of 25)
- 10 x 12in. (25.40 x 30.48cm)
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'IMAGE IN DARKNESS, 1974'
- Price Realised: €1,200
- Sale: 23 February 2015
- aquatint on Arches paper; (no. 43 from edition of 75)
- 15½ x 15½in. (39.37 x 39.37cm)
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'THE TÁIN. MEDBH RELIEVING HERSELF, 1969'
- Price Realised: €1,200
- Sale: 24 November 2014
- lithographic brush drawing (no. 1 from an edition of 70)
- 21 x 15in. (53.34 x 38.10cm)
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'W.B. YEATS STUDY IN GREEN, 1991'
- Price Realised: €1,200
- Sale: 29 November 2010
- aquatint on wove paper (no. 21 from an edition of 35)
- 57 by 42cm., 22.5 by 16.5in.
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'HEAD AND HANDPRINT,1974'
- Price Realised: €1,150
- Sale: 31 May 2021
- Intaglio print on paper; (no. 50 from an edition of 75)
- 15½ x 15½in. (39.37 x 39.37cm)
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'HEAD AND HANDPRINT,1974'
- Price Realised: €1,150
- Sale: 22 March 2021
- aquatint on Arches paper; (no. 63 from an edition of 75)
- 15½ x 15½in. (39.37 x 39.37cm)
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'RECONSTRUCTED HEAD, 1974'
- Price Realised: €1,150
- Sale: 01 March 2021
- aquatint on Arches paper (no. 57 from an edition of 75)
- 16 x 16in. (40.64 x 40.64cm)
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'HEAD AND HANDPRINT,1974'
- Price Realised: €1,150
- Sale: 01 March 2021
- Intaglio print on paper; (no. 57 from an edition of 75)
- 15½ x 15½in. (39.37 x 39.37cm)
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'NO LEMON, 1974'
- Price Realised: €1,150
- Sale: 27 November 2017
- Intaglio print on paper; (from an edition of 75)
- 6 x 6¾in. (15.24 x 17.15cm)
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'DUBLINERS, KINGS INN, 1986'
- Price Realised: €1,150
- Sale: 26 September 2016
- lithograph on handmade Japanese paper; (no. 11 from an edition of 35)
- 12¼ x 17½in. (31.12 x 44.45cm)
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'DUBLINERS, STREET HOUSES, 1986'
- Price Realised: €1,150
- Sale: 26 September 2016
- lithograph on handmade Japanese paper; (no. 11 from an edition of 35)
- 12¼ x 17½in. (31.12 x 44.45cm)
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'DUBLINERS, GENERAL POST OFFICE, 1986'
- Price Realised: €1,150
- Sale: 26 September 2016
- lithograph on handmade Japanese paper; (no. 11 from an edition of 35)
- 12¼ x 17½in. (31.12 x 44.45cm)