Morgan O'Driscoll Irish & International Art Auction 29th April 2019

140 120 Gladys Maccabe ROI FRSA MA HRUA (1918-2018) Self Portrait signed lower left and verso oil on canvas 101.5 x 76.25cm (40 x 30in) Provenance: Specially commissioned for inclusion in ‘The Irish Figurists’ by Susan Stairs; Private Collection; Literature: ‘The Irish Figurists’ by Susan Stairs (Shortall-Stairs Publications, second edition, 1999) Illustrated, page 225 €2,000-€4,000 ($2,247-$4,494) (£1,694-£3,389) The Irish Figurists was first published in 1990 and sought to explore the strong links between the five artists George Campbell, Gerard Dillon, Daniel O’Neill, Gladys Maccabe and Markey Robinson. Reviewing it at the time for The Sunday Business Post, Gerald Davis wrote: ‘What does emerge from Stairs’ efforts is a fine at- tempt to properly place these artists in their context as important practitioners of art in Ireland’. For the re-publication of The Irish Figurists in 1999, we commissioned Gladys Maccabe to paint portraits of the five artists, all of which were illustrated in the book, and on the back cover. This nuanced self-portrait is striking in its simplicity, emphasising the contemplative nature of Gladys’ character with its subtle tones and quiet composition. Susan Stairs, March 2019