Aloysius C. O Kelly

Aloysius O'Kelly (Irish, 1853 - 1926) On The Desert, circa 1894, signed lower left "Aloysius O'Kelly", watercolor on paper, 12-3/4 x 10-1/2 in.; carved and gilt wood frame, not removed from original frame Lot Notes: Exhibited: Royal Academy, London,1891, #1370 was titled "On The Desert", a label verso indicates this painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy "No. 8" This work closely relates to another group of paintings, one titled, " Entering the Gate" and the other "The Harem Guard", the later of which was Exhibited at the RHA in 1894. Estate of Lena Haire, Mocksville, North Carolina

Aloysius O'Kelly RHA (1853-1936) Sailing boats in Concarneau Harbour Oil on panel, 22.9 x 33cm (9 x 13'') Signed Exhibited: ''Peintres Irlandais en Bretagne'' Museé du Pont-Aven, Summer 1999; ''Irish Painters in Brittany'', Crawford Gallery, Cork, Summer June/July 2001.; ''The French Connection'' The AVA Gallery Clandyboye, August/Sept 2010, The Hunt Musuem Limerick, Sept/Oct 2010, Cat No 26 Literature: ''Peintres Irlandais en Bretagne'' by Catherine Puget, 1999, p76-77, cat. no. 39; ''Aloysius O'Kelly: Art Nation, Empire'' by Dr Niamh O'Sullivan 2010, Cat. No. 133, p.307 ''The French Connection'' 2010 catalogue, full page illustration p35

Aloysius O' Kelly (1851-1926) Boats and Wooded Harbour Scene, Pont-Aven Oil on canvas, 68 x 48cm (26.75 x 18.75") Signed Julian Campbell has identified this location as being the view of the harbour, Le Port en Amont and the town of Pont-Aven from downstream - Irish Arts Review 1996 P83. Exhibited: 1984 The National Gallery of Ireland "The Irish Impressionists" Cat No. 26 and toured to Ulster Museum (label verso) 1985; 1999/2000 The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin "Aloysius O' Kelly : Re- orientations'" Exhibition Cat. No. 21 (label verso) Literature: "The Irish Impressionists" by Julian Campbell NGI 1984 P165 (illustrated) Aloysius O'Kelly in Brittany, by Julian Campbell, Irish Arts Review, 1996 P83 (Illustrated) "Aloysius O'Kelly: Re-Orientations" By Dr Niamh O'Sullivan 1999 Full page illustration P 48 Aloysius O'Kelly - Art, Nation, Empire; Dr Niamh O'Sullivan, 2010, Catalogue Raisonn?, cat. no. 72 (p293), full page illustration p170 Aloysius O'Kelly was one of the first Irish artists to go to Brittany, along with Augustus Burke, followed by many other Irish artists over the next half century. In the late nineteenth century, the remote port of Pont-Aven was about a day and a half's journey from Paris. The village comprised a small community of farmers, millers and fishermen. The Aven river was used to drive the mills of the village, and the port lies four miles up the estuary from the sea. Painted in the late 1870s, O'Kelly shows the village nestled in the surrounding woods, with the moored fishing boats reflected in the harbour, from downstream. He captured the distinctiveness of the fishing village, to the extent that at the turn of the century, the production of the first picture postcards of Pont-Aven feature a scene that bears a remarkable similarity to his painting. As the postcard producers took their cue from the artists, the locations became attractive to tourists, thereby encouraging the artists to paint the same locations, and even the same models, over and over. Notwithstanding the apparent naturalism of these images, they were thus, in many respects, contrived. The Monthly Illustrator (4, 2 (1895)) described Breton autumns as emitting 'a soft, pearly, luminous colour giving qualities of opalescent light to the landscape and enveloping everything in a tender tone of sentiment and poetry, a joy to look at and an inspiration to the painter.' In contrast to the dense darkness of some of his interiors, O'Kelly's winter landscapes emanate a chilly luminescence. Clearly painted sur le motif, the treatment of the natural elements is close to the work of his American friend, Hugh Bolton Jones. Dr Niamh O'Sullivan, May 2012

Aloysius O'Kelly RHA(1853-1936) Child playing with bubbles Oil on canvas, 91 x 65cm (35.75 x 25.5") Signed Literature: "Aloysius O'Kelly, Art, Nation, Empire" by NiamhO'Sullivan Published by University of Notre Dame 2010, Cataloguenumber 209 - illustrated P325 Although included in the section of Niamh O'Sullivan's book asbeing painted at an unidentified location the child model in thiswork also appears in another work entitled "A Hearty Breakfast" butthis time it would appear that the sardine boats of Concarneau arevisible out through the window so a similar location might besuggested for the current work. It might even be suggested thatthis is the same model who appears in the iconic "Girl in a Meadow"which has been much exhibited and also featured on the front coverof the Irish Arts Review Vol. 12 1996.

LOT 3 - ALOYSIUS O'KELLY 1853-1936 BRETON GIRLS ON A BEACH signed l.r.: ALOYSIUS O'KELLY oil on canvas 8,000—12,000 GBP 65.5 by 92cm.; 25¾ by 36¼in. signed l.r.: ALOYSIUS O'KELLY oil on canvas Washington D.C., Contemporary American Oil Paintings, 1907,details untraced. There is a sketch of a seated lady on the reverse.Although the exact location of the present work is unknown, thecomposition captures the vibrant coastline near Pont-Aven andConcarneau in Brittany, France. The two girls are wearingtraditional Breton dress and O'Kelly has captured an intimatemoment between two friends on their way to market day. O'Kelly first went to Brittany in 1876 during the summer monthswhilst studying in Paris and the fresh rural subject matter wouldhave been in direct opposition to the meticulous studio trainingGérôme advocated. Like most of his contemporaries, he cannot havefailed to be inspired by the naturalism of Jules Bastien-Lepage andhis followers. The loose handling of Breton Girls on a Beach clearly reflectsO'Kelly's knowledge of the French master's edict of paintingdirectly en plein air. The fluid style and manner ofO'Kelly's signature in the present work suggest that it most likelydates to the first decade of the 20th century. Havingreturned from the United States, O'Kelly went to Brittany in 1902and stayed there for prolonged periods over the next twentyyears.