ADAM'S IMPORTANT IRISH ART 25 MARCH 2026

64 46 WILLIAM CONOR RUA RHA (1887 - 1968) A Shepherd and his Flock Wax crayon, 63.5 x 51cm (25 x 20”) Provenance: One of a collection of works by William Conor, sale, Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, Canada, June 2001, lot 1710; sale, these rooms, 29 May 2013, lot 20; Private collec- tion € 8,000 - 12,000 Another smaller work from this same Canadian col- lection, Dancing the Jig , was sold in these rooms De- cember 2012, lot 48, for €26,000; while another from this collection, The Street Musician sold for €15,000 in our sale 26th March, lot 15. John Hewitt has written ‘In the art history of Ireland, William Conor must be placed with Paul Henry and Jack B Yeats, as one of the first to record the life of the people in painterly terms, without the trappings of stage-Irishry....Few can have realised how representative he has been, how broadly typical of our best moods and impuls- es.’ According to Crookshank and Glin, ‘His early crayon drawings, with their very personal technique, using wax to achieve an uneven texture, developed from his early training as a lithographer and he achieves something of a similar effect in his oils.’ The composition, stance and treatment of the figure in A Shepherd and his Flock are reminiscent of Jack B. Yeats’s Man from Arranmore (1905) rendered in chalk and watercolour. In Yeats’ work the man assumes an almost heroic stance and is depicted against the mountain with the surrounding landscape indicated. Here, the treatment of the figure against the land- scape is similar and even the shepherd’s gaze and that of the fisherman follow a similar path. Conor’s masterful use of crayon lends this work an almost aged photographic quality. The treatment of the figure, delineation of his features, his expression and even the detailed faces of the sheep and lamb, create a quintessential Irish study of country life. The subject is uncharacteristic of Conor who generally made his name as, ‘the pioneer in taking his subjects from town - rather than country - folk.’ (John Hewitt). Hewitt also admires Conor’s technical virtuosity; his vivid draughtsmanship, his adept use of watercol- our, his skilful portraiture in many styles, his few but original essays in landscape.’ This work may feature a scene from Co. Kerry. Conor spent some time on the Blasket Islands and rural studies include The Flax Gatherers, Gathering Potatoes and Going to Mass, Co. Kerry. Marianne O’Kane Boal