ADAM'S IMPORTANT IRISH ART 25 MARCH 2026

Important Irish Art | 25 March 2026 www.adams.ie 125 112 JOHN LUKE RUA (1906-1975) King Solomon Pencil, 182 x 76cm (711 x 30”) Provenance: The Artist’s Estate; Private Collection, Northern Ireland Exhibited: Belfast, ‘ John Luke: A Hidden Archive’ , Naughton Gallery, Queen’s University, 2013 In 1952, John Luke completed his mural painting for Belfast City Hall, and the positive response it received is likely to have encouraged the architects Young and Mackenzie. Joseph McBrinn notes that ‘In the spring of 1955 they commissioned a mural from him for the Provincial Masonic Lodge, in Belfast’s Rosemary Street…Luke’s mural depicted Solomon Building the Temple, which measures over 31 feet in length and 7 feet in height.’ (Joseph McBrinn, North- ern Rhythm: The Art of John Luke , NMNI, 2010, p.71-75) John Hewitt describes the ‘whole com- position in fine accord with the Palladian decorum of the pillared hall’. (John Hew- itt, John Luke , ACNI, 1976, p.83) The present work is the artist’s scale, working drawing for the central figure of Solomon, presented in the hieratic style that Luke carried across this entire composition. € 1,000 - 1,500