Morgan O'Driscoll Irish & International Art Auction 21st October 2019

I rish & I nternational A rt M onday 21 st O ctober 2019 at 6.00 pm 131 105 Patrick Collins RHA (1911-1994) The Penitent Thief (1989) signed and dated oil on canvas 73.5 x 62cm (29 x 24.5in) Provenance: Private Collection €3,000-5,000 (£2,654-4,424) Patrick Collins is best known for his lyrical treatments of the Irish landscape as a realm both mythical and down to earth: ancient monuments in vast tracts of bog, smallholdings on which farmers eke out a tenuous living, all enlivened by a luminous, watery light. Late in his life, his work took an unexpected turn. He became interested in classical Chinese painting with its disregard for Western perspective, setting off on a journey of exploration that led him to use irregularly shaped canvases. Biblical subjects are a rarity for him. He brings his sensitive feeling for colour to this boldly composed figurative study of the thief who appealed to Christ on the cross.