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Patrick Collins
MOORLAND WATER
Lot 12
Price Realised:
€38,000
Estimate:
€30,000 - €40,000
Patrick Collins HRHA, 1911-1994
MOORLAND WATER
Oil on board, 36" x 48" (91.5 x 122cm), signed and dated 1957.
Provenance: Collection of Cecil King; Ex-Collection Bank of Ireland; Bank of Ireland Sale, Adams, 24 November 2010 no. 22; Pri...
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Lot 12
Patrick Collins
MOORLAND WATER
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Lot 12
Patrick Collins
MOORLAND WATER
Estimate:
€30,000 - €40,000
Patrick Collins HRHA, 1911-1994
MOORLAND WATER
Oil on board, 36" x 48" (91.5 x 122cm), signed and dated 1957.
Provenance: Collection of Cecil King; Ex-Collection Bank of Ireland; Bank of Ireland Sale, Adams, 24 November 2010 no. 22; Private Collection.
Exhibited: IELA 1957, cat. no. 14; Patrick Collins Exhibition, Ritchie Hendriks Gallery, Dublin, April 1959, cat. no. 12; Twelve Irish Painters Exhibition, Wollman Hall, New York, Oct/Nov 1963, cat. no. 5; Paintings & Sculpture from Private Collections in Ireland, Dublin 1965, cat. no. 20 where lent by the artist Cecil King; Irish Imagination-ROSC 1971 Exhibition, cat. np. 16 (full page illustration page 51); Modern Irish Painting, Dublin 1971, cat. no. 4; Irish Art 1943-1973, Cork ROSC 1980, cat. no. 18 (label verso); Patrick Collins Retrospective Exhibition, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Trinity College, Dublin, 1982, cat. no. 8, later touring to The Ulster Museum, Belfast and The Crawford Gallery, Cork; Guinness Hop Store, Dublin, Apr/May 1991, cat. no. 31; Artist's Century Exhibition-Irish Self-Portraits and Selected Works 2000, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin and The Ormeau Baths, Belfast;
Literature: Cork ROSC 1980 exhibition catalogue, full page illustration, plate 3, page 23; Patrick Collins, Frances Ruane, illustrated page 33 Modern Art in Ireland; Dorothy Walker, illustrated page 66.
Patrick Collins is recognised as being a key figure in the semi-abstract poetic genre that characterised post-war Irish art. Moorland Water has the soft grey light, the atmospheric quality and the moisture that we associate with this artist and which is completely compatible with the Irish countryside. The painting marked a significant leap in Collins's development—the composition is more complex, the colour more varied and the brushstrokes bolder and more gestural. He infused the surface with new found energy and liveliness.
Like its companion piece, Spring Morning, Collins pushes abstraction to much greater limits than ever before. Moorland Water's layered composition clearly evokes nature: sky, clouds, mountains, water and rocks, all merging so that one can hardly tell them apart. Even so, the subject of the picture remains unmistakable. The artist avoids an obviously picturesque view as he tries instead to get closer to capturing the sensations inspired by nature. Within this protective womb-like shape we find a place imbued with life. We can sense the freedom Collins experienced as a young boy who explored the rivers, lakes, fields and woods around Sligo. Typical of Collins, the motif doesn't extend to the edges of the canvas but floats within a painted 'frame' that deliberately separates it from the present. The artist draws on memory, where details are isolated, condensed, merged and blurred, but where the essence of the recollection is communicated.
Collins's vigorous brushwork and his movement towards increased abstraction suggest that he was influenced by Abstract Expressionism, which dominated the international art world of the 1950s. However, like his Irish contemporaries, he was reluctant to embrace total abstraction. He loved his trees and stones, believing that you lose something important if you completely let go of the seen world. He once said to Brian Lynch: "Nature…nature is an awful word but what the hell can you say?—there's so much outside that if you don't use it you're a fool."
Dr Frances Ruane HRHA
May 2022
MOORLAND WATER
Oil on board, 36" x 48" (91.5 x 122cm), signed and dated 1957.
Provenance: Collection of Cecil King; Ex-Collection Bank of Ireland; Bank of Ireland Sale, Adams, 24 November 2010 no. 22; Private Collection.
Exhibited: IELA 1957, cat. no. 14; Patrick Collins Exhibition, Ritchie Hendriks Gallery, Dublin, April 1959, cat. no. 12; Twelve Irish Painters Exhibition, Wollman Hall, New York, Oct/Nov 1963, cat. no. 5; Paintings & Sculpture from Private Collections in Ireland, Dublin 1965, cat. no. 20 where lent by the artist Cecil King; Irish Imagination-ROSC 1971 Exhibition, cat. np. 16 (full page illustration page 51); Modern Irish Painting, Dublin 1971, cat. no. 4; Irish Art 1943-1973, Cork ROSC 1980, cat. no. 18 (label verso); Patrick Collins Retrospective Exhibition, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Trinity College, Dublin, 1982, cat. no. 8, later touring to The Ulster Museum, Belfast and The Crawford Gallery, Cork; Guinness Hop Store, Dublin, Apr/May 1991, cat. no. 31; Artist's Century Exhibition-Irish Self-Portraits and Selected Works 2000, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin and The Ormeau Baths, Belfast;
Literature: Cork ROSC 1980 exhibition catalogue, full page illustration, plate 3, page 23; Patrick Collins, Frances Ruane, illustrated page 33 Modern Art in Ireland; Dorothy Walker, illustrated page 66.
Patrick Collins is recognised as being a key figure in the semi-abstract poetic genre that characterised post-war Irish art. Moorland Water has the soft grey light, the atmospheric quality and the moisture that we associate with this artist and which is completely compatible with the Irish countryside. The painting marked a significant leap in Collins's development—the composition is more complex, the colour more varied and the brushstrokes bolder and more gestural. He infused the surface with new found energy and liveliness.
Like its companion piece, Spring Morning, Collins pushes abstraction to much greater limits than ever before. Moorland Water's layered composition clearly evokes nature: sky, clouds, mountains, water and rocks, all merging so that one can hardly tell them apart. Even so, the subject of the picture remains unmistakable. The artist avoids an obviously picturesque view as he tries instead to get closer to capturing the sensations inspired by nature. Within this protective womb-like shape we find a place imbued with life. We can sense the freedom Collins experienced as a young boy who explored the rivers, lakes, fields and woods around Sligo. Typical of Collins, the motif doesn't extend to the edges of the canvas but floats within a painted 'frame' that deliberately separates it from the present. The artist draws on memory, where details are isolated, condensed, merged and blurred, but where the essence of the recollection is communicated.
Collins's vigorous brushwork and his movement towards increased abstraction suggest that he was influenced by Abstract Expressionism, which dominated the international art world of the 1950s. However, like his Irish contemporaries, he was reluctant to embrace total abstraction. He loved his trees and stones, believing that you lose something important if you completely let go of the seen world. He once said to Brian Lynch: "Nature…nature is an awful word but what the hell can you say?—there's so much outside that if you don't use it you're a fool."
Dr Frances Ruane HRHA
May 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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