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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'THE CURRAGH, 1991'
- Price Realised: €7,500
- Sale: 21 May 2012
- watercolour
- 7 by 10.25in., 17.78 by 26.035cm.
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'ARMY MASSING, 1969'
- Price Realised: €7,500
- Sale: 17 September 2007
- lithograph (no. 33 from an edition of 70)
- 38 by 53cm., 15 by 21in.
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'CHILD'S HEAD - STUDY OF NIALL SCOTT, 1945'
- Price Realised: €7,500
- Sale: 30 April 2007
- pencil
- 7 by 9cm., 2.75 by 3.5in.
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'HUMAN IMAGE VIII, 2005'
- Price Realised: €7,200
- Sale: 25 February 2008
- serigraph in colours (no. 10 from an edition of 75)
- 85 by 60cm., 33.5 by 23.5in.
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'THE TÁIN. HORSEMAN, 1969'
- Price Realised: €7,000
- Sale: 28 September 2020
- lithographic brush drawing; (no. 24 from an edition of 70)
- 21 x 15in. (53.34 x 38.10cm)
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'PICASSO, 1989'
- Price Realised: €7,000
- Sale: 19 September 2006
- lithograph
- 67 by 51cm., 26.5 by 20in.
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'MOTHER AND CHILD, 1950'
- Price Realised: €6,800
- Sale: 30 May 2016
- pencil, wash and white crayon
- 6¼ x 6¼in. (15.88 x 15.88cm)
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'STUDY TOWARDS AN IMAGE OF FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA, 1977'
- Price Realised: €6,600
- Sale: 02 October 2023
- watercolour
- 9½ x 7¾in. (24.13 x 19.69cm)
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'IMAGE OF JAMES JOYCE, 1981'
- Price Realised: €6,500
- Sale: 19 September 2006
- lithograph (no. 12 from an edition of 20)
- 57 by 41cm., 22.5 by 16.2 5in.
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'VIEW FROM THE DUBLIN MOUNTAINS, 1988'
- Price Realised: €6,200
- Sale: 31 May 2021
- watercolour and crayon
- 7 x 10in. (17.78 x 25.40cm)
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'A VIEW IN THE PHOENIX PARK'
- Price Realised: €6,200
- Sale: 17 September 2002
- watercolour
- 23 by 14cm., 9 by 5.5in.
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'NEAR BLESSINGTON, COUNTY WICKLOW, 1990'
- Price Realised: €6,000
- Sale: 02 October 2017
- watercolour
- 9¾ x 13¾in. (24.77 x 34.93cm)
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'DOOAGH, ACHILL, 1946'
- Price Realised: €6,000
- Sale: 28 September 2015
- ink and watercolour
- 4½ x 7¾in. (11.43 x 19.69cm)
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'HEADS AND LEMONS [SIX AQUATINTS] 1981'
- Price Realised: €6,000
- Sale: 30 September 2013
- aquatints on Arches paper; (each an edition of 75)
- 26 by 19.75in., 65 by 49.375cm.
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'BACKGROUND'
- Price Realised: €6,000
- Sale: 30 November 2004
- watercolour on paper
- 13 by 19cm., 5 by 7.5in.
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'THE TÁIN. CÚCHULAINN DISPLAYED, 1969'
- Price Realised: €5,800
- Sale: 07 December 2020
- lithographic brush drawing; (no. 24 from an edition of 70)
- 21 x 15in. (53.34 x 38.10cm)
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'BEARA, 1988'
- Price Realised: €5,800
- Sale: 26 November 2018
- watercolour and crayon
- 7 x 10¼in. (17.78 x 26.04cm)
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'EIGHT IRISH WRITERS [1981]'
- Price Realised: €5,800
- Sale: 30 May 2016
- collotype lithographs; (8); (no. 86 from an edition of 100); unframed, in the original linen folio case
- 13¾ x 11in. (34.93 x 27.94cm)
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'COTTAGES, ACHILL ISLAND, 1946'
- Price Realised: €5,800
- Sale: 28 September 2015
- ink and watercolour
- 3¾ x 7¾in. (9.53 x 19.69cm)
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'FEDELM - ILLUSTRATION TO THE T¦IN, 1969'
- Price Realised: €5,800
- Sale: 28 November 2006
- lithograph on Swiftbrook paper(no. 32 from an edition of 70)
- 54 by 38cm., 21.2 5 by 15in.
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'GIRL CHILD, 1954'
- Price Realised: €5,700
- Sale: 19 September 2006
- lithograph (no. 23 from an edition of 25)
- 53 by 38cm., 21 by 15in.
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'STUDY TOWARDS AN IMAGE OF W.B. YEATS, 1975'
- Price Realised: €5,600
- Sale: 21 May 2012
- charcoal
- 8.75 by 7in., 22.225 by 17.78cm.
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'CHILD WITH DOLL [HOMMAGE À JANKEL ADLER] 1949'
- Price Realised: €5,500
- Sale: 09 March 2020
- lithograph drawn through carbon paper; (no. 8 from an edition of 20)
- 30 x 20in. (76.20 x 50.80cm)
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'CATTY GALLAGHER [A HILL IN COUNTY WICKLOW], 1947'
- Price Realised: €5,400
- Sale: 27 September 2021
- watercolour and ink on paper
- 5 x 7in. (12.70 x 17.78cm)
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'IMAGE OF SEAMUS HEANEY, 2009'
- Price Realised: €5,400
- Sale: 27 February 2017
- intaglio print on Japanese Kozu natural paper; (no. 35 from edition of 75)
- 23 x 17½in. (58.42 x 44.45cm)
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'RIVERRUN, PROCESSION WITH LILIES II, 1991'
- Price Realised: €5,400
- Sale: 21 February 2006
- lithograph on handmade Japanese paper (no. 45 of 75)
- 48 by 64cm., 19 by 25in.
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'CHILD WITH DOLL, HOMMAGE À JANKEL ADLER, 1949'
- Price Realised: €5,200
- Sale: 26 September 2016
- lithograph; (no. 6 from an edition of 20)
- 30½ x 20½in. (77.47 x 52.07cm)
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'HEAD OF NELSON MANDELA, 1983'
- Price Realised: €5,200
- Sale: 15 December 2007
- lithograph (no. 46 from an edition of 100)
- 85 by 60cm., 33.5 by 23.5in.