$6,518
Seán Keating (Irish, 1889-1977) Two Seated Figures, c. 1952 / A Study for An Beinsin Luachra [The Song of a Bunch of Rushes] Signed "KEATING." l.r., inscribed "Connemara/ ...tng" on a partial label affixed to the reverse. Mixed media (charcoal and pastel) on paper, sheet size 21 3/4 x 21 1/2 in. (55.2 x 54.6 cm), framed. Condition: Foxing, minor acid burn, subtle rippling, brown paper taped to window mat. Provenance: Acquired by Louis and Yvonne Jammet, Paris, France; by descent to their daughter Raymonde Jammet Kiersey (1923-2008), Westford and Dunstable, Massachusetts; present owner by family descent. N.B. We wish to thank Dr. Éimear O'Connor HRHA for her kind assistance with cataloguing the lot. In 1952 Seán Keating began a series of studies for an oil painting. He worked on several drawings, sketches and studies, many of which still exist, although this is an unusual example owing to the fact that it is in colour pastel. His idea was to place a lady, dressed in what was then traditional Connemara costume, beside a seafaring man, as if the two were about to become a couple. In this example, the male is vaguely modelled on Keating, although it is not a self-portrait, and the woman's face can be understood as his idealised image of an Irish beauty. The study has a light, somewhat playful atmosphere, in which the woman seems interested in her suitor, but has decided to let him chase her a little more. The painting, for which this example was a study, was eventuall
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2012-02-03
