Adam's Important Irish Art September 26th 2018

112 98 DANIEL O’NEILL (1920-1974) The Garden Oil on board, 46 x 60cm (18 x 23½’’) Inscribed with title verso Provenance: Purchased c.1970/71 from the Victor Waddington Galleries, London by the current owner, a cousin of the renowned gallerist. Daniel O’Neill has often included twinned female figures in his work, usually placing them in the immediate foreground, close to the picture plane, as seen in Mother and Daughters (Lot 54) in this sale. On this occa- sion his two figures are set within the bright and extensive landscape of a walled garden. The tranquility of the setting, filled with colourful flowers creates a calm atmosphere. The title of the work, makes explicit the suggestion of recovery after an illness and presumably refers to the figure who is lying down in the back- ground of the painting covered in a blanket, despite the warm sunshine. She is watched over by another figure standing to the left of the foreground, facing out to the viewer. O’Neill leaves the figures faceless, their identity and emotions anonymous to us. The walled garden, while offering a place of sanctuary and peacefulness could also be read as a barrier between the figures and the what lies beyond the enclosure. O’Neill has arranged the composition around the central square flower bed, the perimeter line of the garden wall continues into the physical boundary that exists between the viewer and the painted canvas. We are on the threshold, the figure in the foreground is removed from us standing at the top of steps. We do not get the impression that we could enter into this space. O’Neill often juxtaposed elements within his paintings and in the case of this work the abundance of colour and variety of plants on the right hand side of the garden are contrasted with the dark, lifeless bushes to the left. This side of the garden is cast in shade, while the figure lying on the chair is bathed in sunlight. The shift in light and atmosphere is incredibly subtle, delineated by the slight difference in tone of the flag- stones. There is a tendency to describe the atmosphere of O’Neill’s paintings as isolating yet it seems here the sense of distance between the figures and the viewer functions only to intrigue us further into the nature of the scene. Niamh Corcoran, August 2018 € 25,000 - 35,000