Bidding on this item has ended.
James Coy
A ROCKY LANDSCAPE WITH A CASCADE
Lot 57
Price Realised:
€40,000
Estimate:
€8,000 - €12,000
James Coy, circa 1750-1780
A ROCKY LANDSCAPE WITH A CASCADE
Oil on canvas, 39" x 53" (99 x 135cm)
Literature: William Laffan and Brendan Rooney, Thomas Roberts, Landscape and Patronage in Eighteenth-Century Ireland (Tralee, 2009) p. 2...
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Lot 57
James Coy
A ROCKY LANDSCAPE WITH A CASCADE
Lot 57
James Coy
A ROCKY LANDSCAPE WITH A CASCADE
Estimate:
€8,000 - €12,000
James Coy, circa 1750-1780
A ROCKY LANDSCAPE WITH A CASCADE
Oil on canvas, 39" x 53" (99 x 135cm)
Literature: William Laffan and Brendan Rooney, Thomas Roberts, Landscape and Patronage in Eighteenth-Century Ireland (Tralee, 2009) p. 203, fig 166
A pupil of the Dublin Society School, James Coy won a premium and a silver palette for 'his performances in landscape painting' and was singled out in the press for his talent, his first appearance at the Society of Artists in Ireland in 1769 being greeted warmly: 'If this be an original production by a very young artist and neither stolen nor copied, we should say he affords very promising hopes. Its simplicity discovers a good deal of taste, and it abounds with expression'. Coy exhibited on
five occasions with the Society of Artists, exclusively showing landscapes, all Irish except on one occasion in 1773 when he sent Welsh subject matter.
Coy was a pupil of Robert Carver and his work shows just how closely-knit was the Dublin Group of landscape artists. No doubt the annual exhibitions in which they had the opportunity to compete for patronage and study each others' work accelerated existing overlaps of friendship and pupillage. These connections are reflected in several of Coy's exhibits such as his View of Marino (1770). This suburban demesne just north of Dublin was also painted by Roberts, (twice), while Mullins received an important commission for four upright landscapes for the house, home to Lord Charlemont (1728-99). Coy also painted in the Dargle Valley in County Wicklow. In the 1772 exhibition of the Society of Artists his view of a related Wicklow subject, Powerscourt Waterfall, was singled out by a critic who wrote that it 'conveys the strongest idea of the subject, and is in every respect the best of this view, so often attempted'. In this 1772 show Coy, Roberts and William Ashford all exhibited views of Tinnehinch suggesting a clear awareness of each other's work - perhaps the result of a joint sketching trip to Wicklow - and no doubt exciting a spirit of emulation among them.
Anthony Pasquin reports that Roberts was the teacher of James Coy. While such a relationship is difficult to corroborate - the two men were almost exactly the same age - both Roberts and Coy were clearly in the same immediate circle. The overlap in subject matter between Coy and Roberts is, however, striking. Although few securely attributed paintings by Coy survive, those that do often seem to depend on Roberts's work. A dated picture of 1776 by Coy is a variant on Roberts's favoured theme of travellers resting. Two further paintings by Coy show divergent views of work and leisure: one depicting an elegant cottage orne (private collection) the other the mills at Westport, County Mayo (private collection).
The present work, a large finely-executed landscape showing a cascade, further indicates the stylistic proximity between Coy and Roberts and offers support to Pasquin's assertion that, as well as being peers, there was a pupil / teacher relationship between them. It is based on a prototype by Roberts such as Landscape with a Young Boy on a White Horse (National Gallery of Ireland). The disposition of the rocks with the water cascading down on the right and the silhouetted tree on the left suggest a close affinity with Roberts's work. A plausible attribution to Coy may confidently be advanced, based on similarities with other signed works. Tragically, Coy, clearly a promising young artist on the rise, was to die in 1780, aged only about thirty.
William Laffan, 2022
A ROCKY LANDSCAPE WITH A CASCADE
Oil on canvas, 39" x 53" (99 x 135cm)
Literature: William Laffan and Brendan Rooney, Thomas Roberts, Landscape and Patronage in Eighteenth-Century Ireland (Tralee, 2009) p. 203, fig 166
A pupil of the Dublin Society School, James Coy won a premium and a silver palette for 'his performances in landscape painting' and was singled out in the press for his talent, his first appearance at the Society of Artists in Ireland in 1769 being greeted warmly: 'If this be an original production by a very young artist and neither stolen nor copied, we should say he affords very promising hopes. Its simplicity discovers a good deal of taste, and it abounds with expression'. Coy exhibited on
five occasions with the Society of Artists, exclusively showing landscapes, all Irish except on one occasion in 1773 when he sent Welsh subject matter.
Coy was a pupil of Robert Carver and his work shows just how closely-knit was the Dublin Group of landscape artists. No doubt the annual exhibitions in which they had the opportunity to compete for patronage and study each others' work accelerated existing overlaps of friendship and pupillage. These connections are reflected in several of Coy's exhibits such as his View of Marino (1770). This suburban demesne just north of Dublin was also painted by Roberts, (twice), while Mullins received an important commission for four upright landscapes for the house, home to Lord Charlemont (1728-99). Coy also painted in the Dargle Valley in County Wicklow. In the 1772 exhibition of the Society of Artists his view of a related Wicklow subject, Powerscourt Waterfall, was singled out by a critic who wrote that it 'conveys the strongest idea of the subject, and is in every respect the best of this view, so often attempted'. In this 1772 show Coy, Roberts and William Ashford all exhibited views of Tinnehinch suggesting a clear awareness of each other's work - perhaps the result of a joint sketching trip to Wicklow - and no doubt exciting a spirit of emulation among them.
Anthony Pasquin reports that Roberts was the teacher of James Coy. While such a relationship is difficult to corroborate - the two men were almost exactly the same age - both Roberts and Coy were clearly in the same immediate circle. The overlap in subject matter between Coy and Roberts is, however, striking. Although few securely attributed paintings by Coy survive, those that do often seem to depend on Roberts's work. A dated picture of 1776 by Coy is a variant on Roberts's favoured theme of travellers resting. Two further paintings by Coy show divergent views of work and leisure: one depicting an elegant cottage orne (private collection) the other the mills at Westport, County Mayo (private collection).
The present work, a large finely-executed landscape showing a cascade, further indicates the stylistic proximity between Coy and Roberts and offers support to Pasquin's assertion that, as well as being peers, there was a pupil / teacher relationship between them. It is based on a prototype by Roberts such as Landscape with a Young Boy on a White Horse (National Gallery of Ireland). The disposition of the rocks with the water cascading down on the right and the silhouetted tree on the left suggest a close affinity with Roberts's work. A plausible attribution to Coy may confidently be advanced, based on similarities with other signed works. Tragically, Coy, clearly a promising young artist on the rise, was to die in 1780, aged only about thirty.
William Laffan, 2022
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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.
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