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Modern British and Irish Art

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Lot 64^AR

Louis Le Brocquy H.R.H.A.
(Irish, 1916-2012)
Kennedy Trilogy 40.6 x 80.3 cm. (16 x 31 5/8 in.) (overall)

12 June 2019, 15:00 BST

London, New Bond Street

Sold for £18,812.50 inc. premium

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Louis Le Brocquy H.R.H.A. (Irish, 1916-2012)

Kennedy Trilogy
variously signed, inscribed and dated 'TRILOGY, NOVEMBER 1963/PANEL 1:/Reflection on mourning/LE BROCQUY/November 1963' (verso of panel 1); 'TRILOGY, NOVEMBER 1963/PANEL NO.2:/Central thought/LOUIS LE BROCQUY/NOV.1963' (verso of panel 2) and 'TRILOGY, NOVEMBER 1963/PANEL 3:/Reflection on grief/LE BROCQUY '63 November' (verso of panel 3)
oil on three canvases framed as one
40.6 x 80.3 cm. (16 x 31 5/8 in.) (overall)

Footnotes

Provenance
With The Dawson Gallery, Dublin
Private Collection, U.K.

1963 was a tumultuous year for le Brocquy that saw the birth of his son Pierre in August and culminated in him destroying almost an entire years work in December, some forty three paintings (with the present exception). In spite of successful exhibitions at Gimpel Fils in 1961 and The Dawson Gallery in 1962, le Brocquy felt frustrated with his work but this temporary crisis would become instrumental in leading on to the successful 'Head' series which was to preoccupy him for the next four decades.

In the preface to the former exhibition catalogue, Sir Herbert Read wrote of le Brocquy that 'he is a painter of the inner world of feeling', a sentiment that is clear in Kennedy Trilogy. The U.S. President was assassinated on 23 November 1963 sending shockwaves around the world, and especially in Ireland where he had visited only five months prior. The present work is divided into three physical sections each representing a different emotional response to the event. Looking from left to right, the first panel is a reflection on mourning and rendered in solemn hues of grey, the figure is still, with the face only partially visible giving the impression of being hooded. The middle panel, a central thought on assassination, uses le Brocquy's more recognisable palette of whites to present the viewer with an ethereal, crumpled form before the process ends in the right panel, this figure is wide eyed and open mouthed in sorrow and is rendered in deep reds and maroons, perhaps a reference to the First Lady, Jackie, who was present at the assassination of her husband. As with all of le Brocquy's 'Presences' the figures emerge from the picture plane, the artist more concerned with conveying spirit and that same 'feeling' Read cited, than actual representation.

Louis le Brocquy's artistic achievement spanned a lifetime and his work has been and continues to be venerated by connoisseurs, collectors and critics alike. One of Ireland's finest painters, his pictures are justifiably applauded on an international level and he remains one of the few Irish artists to have commanded seven figure sums on the open market.

We are grateful to Pierre le Brocquy for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.

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