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

70 49 Daniel O’Neill (1920-1974) Country Cart signed lower right oil on board 35.5 x 45.75cm (14 x 18in) Provenance: Collection of Mrs. Hughes; Victor Waddington Gallery, London (label verso); Private Collection €8,000-12,000 (£7,079-10,619) This work was probably executed between 1953-1955 when Daniel O’Neill was living in Co. Down with his partner, Sheilagh Deacon. An energetic painter, O’Neill’s painting style changed a number of times from 1948-1955. In the early 1950’s, O’Neill went through a phase of applying thin layers of glazes to achieve polished smooth finishes on his oils but in his exhibition in 1955, he moved away from romantic images and introduced a sweeter palette and a fairyland narrative. Detail became less important and brushwork and subject matter were more in keeping with the Impressionists. This subject seems to fit with other scenes from this period, ‘Two Families’ (1953) and Family Group (c.1955) which would suggest O’Neill was responding to how families were affected after the War, when many families were displaced and uprooted in the aftermath of the War. Born in Belfast, O’Neill had little orthodox training except for a few classes at the College of Art, Belfast. He started painting with watercolours at the age of fifteen, and when possible spent all his spare time in the Belfast Reference library studying the Italian Renaissance painters. Working as an Electrical engineer in the Belfast Corporation Transport Department, he worked on the night shift so he could paint during the day. This continued for over five years until he was taken up with Dublin dealer, Victor Waddington in 1945. Several one man shows followed and his works were included in several exhibitions overseas; London in 1946, New York in 1947, and California in 1948. In 1948 he spent six months in France, mostly staying in Paris. Here he was given an opportunity to study painters he admired, such as Watteau, Rouault, Vlaminck, Utrillo and the Impressionists. In 1952 at just 32 years of age, he held a retrospective exhibition in his native city, organized by the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts(CEMA). Recognition of his work resulted in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, The Sutter Art Gallery in New Zealand and the Laing Art Gallery in England, adding his work to their collections in the 1950’s. Facing the viewer, a family in a cart with their animals directly faces the viewer. Wrapped in a shawl a mother protects her child during a stop in their journey. The cart and animals suggest a rural location, but the environment is illusive. Little detail is provided but the focus is on concern and guardianship of a family as they travel on a journey. Susan Stairs stated that ‘O’Neill drew his subject matter from his life’s experiences, ‘and imbued it with his own passionate nature. Being a man who felt deeply about life, his work often betrayed his own feeling.’ (The Irish Figurists, Dublin, 1990 pg. 138). Karen Reihill, September 2019

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