IMPORTANT IRISH ART SALE

Wednesday 29th May 2013 12:00am

Click on image to open full size.

Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) ''Camlough Fair, the Clinching Bid'' Oil on board, 33 x 39cm (13 x 15½'') Signed and dated 1924, inscribed with title verso. Bell Gallery label verso...

Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) ''Camlough Fair, the Clinching Bid'' Oil on board, 33 x 39cm (13 x 15½'') Signed and dated 1924, inscribed with title verso. Bell Gallery label verso Provenance: From the estate of the late James Gibson Camlough, meaning 'Crooked Lake' in Irish, is a few miles from McKelvey's wife Elizabeth Murphy's homeplace, a farm, at Bessbrook, Co. Armagh and this work was painted the year that they got married (6th Feb 1924) at Craigavad, Co. Down. In their time, the fair towns were very important, places the population concentrated on, and people walked for miles on a fair day to sell their produce. Camlough is one of thirty towns listed in Co. Armagh as fair towns in Wilson's Directory of Ireland, 1834. 'Fair Day, Camlough, South Armagh' is a superb work by the artist. It channels some of the principal motifs of impressionism - the play of light, the fleeting moment, a general mood - into a perfectly rendered composition. Every element is carefully orchestrated and the result is a pleasure for the eye to peruse. The figure group in the left foreground initially draws the viewer's gaze. These men in their coats are treated in a manner akin to the early work of Jack B Yeats. They are depicted on a neutral backdrop to highlight the point of the handshake, the deal being struck. This action is observed by the lady in profile and the man adjacent, and the composition naturally invites the viewer to look on from the side-lines. The light in this painting shows McKelvey at his best, capturing the essence of a summer's day and the event of the Fair Day; the sheep practically glow as do the cattle beyond as these animals are bathed in light. To further demonstrate the bustle and activity in Camlough, McKelvey introduces a range of colours before the terraced houses to indicate the crowds of people enjoying the proceedings. Shafts of light again streak across the terraced facade and enliven the painting further. The trees are much looser than in McKelvey's other work of the time, but this is a well-informed deviation as the composition is already sufficiently developed. This is a key work in the artist's oeuvre. McKelvey has made another work on this subject 'Fair Day at Camlough, Co. Armagh,' a fine watercolour on paper of a similar scene from another angle. It also comprises of two principal groups, one to fore, and one to the left, to unify the composition. In his work 'Market Scene' c1935, painted a decade after the featured painting, the work is looser and is concerned with portraying an overall mood of a market town, rather than a definitive place or transaction. McKelvey continued to capture this subject on occasion, his latest known work 'The Cattle Fair' 1971. Marianne O'Kane Boal

View more View less

Hammer Price: €30,000

Estimate EUR : €12,000 - €16,000

All bids are placed in Euros (€)

Please note that by submitting a bid you are agreeing to our Terms & Conditions

Close

Sign In