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63 of 153 lots
63
John Shinnors (b.1950)
Estimate:
€15,000 - €20,000
Sold
€16,000
Live Auction
Irish & International Art
Size
35 by 32in. (88.9 by 81.3cm)
Description
Title: PICTURE OF CHRISTINE KEELER, 1980
Note: This early work by John Shinnors has a fascinating provenance. It was commissioned in 1980 by a friend and patron of the young artist who, during this period, was struggling to make a living from his work. It was prior to his major breakthrough following his GPA Award in 1984. The friend, though from Limerick, had lived and worked in London during the sixties and seventies. He was a jazz aficionado and got to know Christine Keeler through their mutual involvement in the vibrant London jazz scene of that period. A time when the Flamingo, Ronnie Scott's and The 100 Club were all thriving and Tubby Hayes was in his all too brief prime. After he settled back in Limerick he gave Shinnors a personal photograph of Keeler in this provocative pose complete with the leopard skin jacket (so apt for the Shinnors treatment) and asked him to produce a painting based on it. He required the photograph, which he clearly treasured, to be returned with the completed commission. The friend in question died recently and the painting has been consigned by his long-term partner. This work has never been seen in public before. It is a striking example of Shinnors early style which shows the influence of his great friend and mentor Jack Donovan. The eye is drawn to the red belt buckle, that distinctive deep cadmium red that the artist has favoured through the years. The frank, even brazen image is juxtaposed piquantly by the ghostly painting within the painting that was by a Scandavian artist whose name Shinnors could not recall when I asked him about it recently. John P. O'Sullivan,July 2023Christine Margaret Keeler (22 February 1942 - 4 December 2017) was an English model and showgirl. Her meeting at a dance club with society osteopath Stephen Ward drew her into fashionable circles. At the height of the Cold War, she became sexually involved with a married Cabinet minister, John Profumo, as well as with a Soviet naval attaché, Yevgeny Ivanov. A shooting incident involving a third lover caused the press to investigate her, revealing that her affairs could be threatening national security. In the House of Commons, Profumo denied any improper conduct but later admitted that he had lied.This incident discredited the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan in 1963, in what became known as the Profumo affair. Keeler was alleged to have been a prostitute, which was not a criminal offence. Ward was, however, found guilty of being her pimp; a trial was instigated after the embarrassment caused to the government. The trial has since been considered a miscarriage of justice and a charade by the establishment to protect itself. Stephen Ward committed suicide before the jury in his trial returned a verdict.
Frame size: 38.5 by 35.5in. (97.8 by 90.2cm)
Condition
Excellent condition.
Medium
oil on panel
Signature
signed lower right (now obscured); signed, dated and inscribed with title on artist's label on reverse
Provenance
Commissioned by a friend of the artist and Christine Keeler, 1980;Private collection