Adams Important Irish Art 30th September 2015 : You can Download a PDF Version from the Bottom Menu Down Arrow Icon

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Oil on board, 35.5 x 25.5cm (14 x 10”)
Signed and dated (19)’88
Provenance: Gift from the artist to the present
owner
Exhibited: The Gordon Gallery, May 1989
€1,200 - 1,600
The Gordon family ties with the city of Derry go back to the late 19th Century. Ephraim Gordon was born into a Jewish family in the Russian state of Kurland (modern day Latvia) in 1872.
The family had been in oil and timber in Russia and there were ties between the Baltic ports and Derry port. In 1884 he escaped the last of the pograms to join his elder brother David who
had started the business of picture framing and selling artist’s materials and art works of various descriptions c.1860.
Ephraim died in 1949 and his son Nat took over keeping the original premises until 1954. Nat was way ahead of his time and organised exhibitions for the Arts Council and CEMA in Derry.
He established ‘The Art Shop’, in 1953 developing a gallery alongside china & glass and later in 1959 he relocated and added a fashion boutique to the business. Following the start of ‘The
Troubles’ and the near collapse of their overall business Nat decided to concentrate on art and established “The Keys Gallery” in 1970. He was joined by his son Richard in 1983 who ran the
picture framing side of the business. Ten years later Richard re-located again and established “The Gordon Galleries” which due to regeneration of the city center closed several years later.
The gallery was re-established in Pump Street in 2005 where it ran until its closure last year, 2014 and so ends the Gordon family’s connection with the city.
The works on offer here (Lots 145 - 174) are from the family’s private collection which were collected by two generations. Many of the pieces were gifts directly from the artists and all hung
in their family home, Ballinacross House just outside the city
Oil on paper, 18.5 x 21.5cm (7¼ x 8½”)
Signed
Provenance: A gift from the artist to the present owner
€2,500 - 3,500
Fig I. Basil Blackshaw “Portrait of Nat Gordon” Fig II. The Gordon Empire Picture Frame Works C 1890
THE GORDON COLLECTION (LOTS 145 - 174)