Morgan O'Driscoll Irish & International Art Auction 12th November 2018

112 96 Liam Belton RHA (b.1947) Pewter and Eggs (2016) signed lower right, titled and dated on reverse oil on canvas 40.5 x 61cm (16 x 24in) Provenance: Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin (label verso); Private Collection €5,000-€7,000 (£4,464-£6,250) There’s an almost eerie quality to Liam Belton’s paintings. They are finished to a high degree of representational precision but are also unrealistic in that they are staged and unnatural - he prefers the term tableaux to describe them rather than the more obvious “still life.” The choreography of objects in Pewter and Eggs re- calls Picasso’s penchant for imbuing still lifes with erotic symbolism - the anthro- pomorphic play is underlined here by the incorporation of the image of a female nude. The mood is different in Herb Cutter and Eggs, the dark curved blade rests against the wall, but there is an implied threat in the way that it both echoes and looms over the curved form of the eggs.