Bidding on this item has ended.
Daniel O'Neill
BREAKWATER - NEWCASTLE
Lot 24
Price Realised:
€6,500
Estimate:
€6,000 - €9,000
Daniel O'Neill, 1920-1974
BREAKWATER - NEWCASTLE
Oil on board, 16" x 24" (40.6 x 61cm), signed; inscribed verso.
Provenance: signed and inscribed on artists label verso.
Breakwater, Newcastle demonstrates O'Neill's modernist sensibilit...
Read more
Lot 24
Daniel O'Neill
BREAKWATER - NEWCASTLE
Lot 24
Daniel O'Neill
BREAKWATER - NEWCASTLE
Estimate:
€6,000 - €9,000
Daniel O'Neill, 1920-1974
BREAKWATER - NEWCASTLE
Oil on board, 16" x 24" (40.6 x 61cm), signed; inscribed verso.
Provenance: signed and inscribed on artists label verso.
Breakwater, Newcastle demonstrates O'Neill's modernist sensibilities alongside the romanticism that pervades much of his work. A number of O'Neill's Ulster contemporaries found subject matter in the beaches, coasts and harbours along its east coast, but the unusual and slightly uncanny focus of the present work in this case aligns him, perhaps unexpectedly, with Nevill Johnson, who also began to exhibit with Victor Waddington in Dublin in the mid-1940s.
Johnson's early paintings often explore the coastline within a surrealist context as the meeting-point of two worlds, land and sea and also conscious and subconscious, with one intruding on the other. Much as Johnson used found objects and driftwood to create drama and a suggestion of narrative while painting literal objects, O'Neill's close-up concentration on the breakwater endows it with a transformed sense of scale, as if the viewer is entering a world that is both familiar and unfamiliar. A single bent, rusted nail is the most immediate reminder of human activity here.
It is an eye-catching visual motif that becomes an ambiguous but powerful emblem of man enduring against nature and perhaps it also carries a more personal sense of struggle and survival. Appearing to have been painted towards the end of World War Two or in its aftermath, the worn but enduring wooden barrier can also perhaps be read as an expression of the post-war mood, a microcosm of the destruction and resilience that had been witnessed.
Breakwater, Newcastle also demonstrates a precision in O'Neill's painting, alongside the lyricism that is a hallmark of his work. There is an interest in texture, but also an innate sense of drama and the ability to evoke a powerful mood.
Dickon Hall, March 2022
BREAKWATER - NEWCASTLE
Oil on board, 16" x 24" (40.6 x 61cm), signed; inscribed verso.
Provenance: signed and inscribed on artists label verso.
Breakwater, Newcastle demonstrates O'Neill's modernist sensibilities alongside the romanticism that pervades much of his work. A number of O'Neill's Ulster contemporaries found subject matter in the beaches, coasts and harbours along its east coast, but the unusual and slightly uncanny focus of the present work in this case aligns him, perhaps unexpectedly, with Nevill Johnson, who also began to exhibit with Victor Waddington in Dublin in the mid-1940s.
Johnson's early paintings often explore the coastline within a surrealist context as the meeting-point of two worlds, land and sea and also conscious and subconscious, with one intruding on the other. Much as Johnson used found objects and driftwood to create drama and a suggestion of narrative while painting literal objects, O'Neill's close-up concentration on the breakwater endows it with a transformed sense of scale, as if the viewer is entering a world that is both familiar and unfamiliar. A single bent, rusted nail is the most immediate reminder of human activity here.
It is an eye-catching visual motif that becomes an ambiguous but powerful emblem of man enduring against nature and perhaps it also carries a more personal sense of struggle and survival. Appearing to have been painted towards the end of World War Two or in its aftermath, the worn but enduring wooden barrier can also perhaps be read as an expression of the post-war mood, a microcosm of the destruction and resilience that had been witnessed.
Breakwater, Newcastle also demonstrates a precision in O'Neill's painting, alongside the lyricism that is a hallmark of his work. There is an interest in texture, but also an innate sense of drama and the ability to evoke a powerful mood.
Dickon Hall, March 2022
- Enquire
- View all lots by this artist
- How bidding works
Please note: You will require a deVeres account in order to bid. Please register via the website. Each lot will close numerically. If there is late bidding the time may be extended which could delay subsequent lots. The lots will start to close from 2.00pm on auction day, closing at 45 second intervals.
PLEASE BID EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT.
In order to allow rival bidders the opportunity to respond to a late bid the following extensions will apply:
IF A BID IS RECEIVED WITHIN THE FINAL 45 SECONDS OF THE COUNTDOWN THE CLOCK WILL RESET TO 60 SECONDS.
At any point you can leave a maximum bid, representing the highest price you are prepared to pay for a particular lot. Bidding only advances when there is competition from a rival bidder. In that case the system bids on your behalf, only up to the maximum if required. All bids are relayed to you be email, along with notification if you have been outbid.
All maximum bids are confidential and not disclosed. The system will endeavor to purchase the lot for you for the least price. Bids are subject to buyer’s premium of 25% (incl vat), with no additional charges.
In the event of a tied bid, the preference will be given to the bid submitted first. The second bidder will receive immediate notification of being outbid.
PLEASE BID EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT.
In order to allow rival bidders the opportunity to respond to a late bid the following extensions will apply:
IF A BID IS RECEIVED WITHIN THE FINAL 45 SECONDS OF THE COUNTDOWN THE CLOCK WILL RESET TO 60 SECONDS.
At any point you can leave a maximum bid, representing the highest price you are prepared to pay for a particular lot. Bidding only advances when there is competition from a rival bidder. In that case the system bids on your behalf, only up to the maximum if required. All bids are relayed to you be email, along with notification if you have been outbid.
All maximum bids are confidential and not disclosed. The system will endeavor to purchase the lot for you for the least price. Bids are subject to buyer’s premium of 25% (incl vat), with no additional charges.
In the event of a tied bid, the preference will be given to the bid submitted first. The second bidder will receive immediate notification of being outbid.
Sign-up to our auction alert
Signup for personalised Irish art recommendations, invitations to viewings and auctions, articles and more.