36
Daniel O'Neill (1920-1974)
Estimate:
€8,000 - €12,000
Passed
Live Auction
Important Irish Art
Size
23 by 20in. (58.4 by 50.8cm)
Description
Title: PORTRAIT OF THE WRITER LAURENCE JAMES LUDOVICI, 1948
Note: Laurence James Ludovici (1910-1996) was a writer best known for his accounts of scientific and medical achievements including The History of Anaesthesia and Fleming, Discovery of Penicillin. Daniel O’Neill began exhibiting in Dublin from the early 1940s. He held a joint exhibition with fellow Belfast artist Gerard Dillon in 1943 at the Contemporary Painter Gallery and later with Victor Waddington in 1946. The positive response and sales of his work garnered him a contract with Waddington and allowed him to paint full time. Collaborative shows with George Campbell, Neville Johnson and Gerard Dillon followed. The present example dates to this early phase in the artist’s career. The year after this work was painted O’Neill travelled to Paris and his subject and style developed further. It is thought that this portrait was painted at Bryansford, Co. Down.
Frame dimensions: 27.75 by 24.5in. (70.5 by 62.2cm)
Note: Laurence James Ludovici (1910-1996) was a writer best known for his accounts of scientific and medical achievements including The History of Anaesthesia and Fleming, Discovery of Penicillin. Daniel O’Neill began exhibiting in Dublin from the early 1940s. He held a joint exhibition with fellow Belfast artist Gerard Dillon in 1943 at the Contemporary Painter Gallery and later with Victor Waddington in 1946. The positive response and sales of his work garnered him a contract with Waddington and allowed him to paint full time. Collaborative shows with George Campbell, Neville Johnson and Gerard Dillon followed. The present example dates to this early phase in the artist’s career. The year after this work was painted O’Neill travelled to Paris and his subject and style developed further. It is thought that this portrait was painted at Bryansford, Co. Down.
Frame dimensions: 27.75 by 24.5in. (70.5 by 62.2cm)
Condition
Excellent condition.
Medium
oil on board
Signature
signed upper left; dated lower left
Provenance
Adam’s, 11 December 1996, lot 63;Private collection;with Eastwood Gallery, Antrim, 1999;Private collectionWhyte's, 23 Feb 2015, lot 29;Private collection;Adam's, 23 March 2016, lot 84;Private collection
