Early 20th century paintings by Irish artists, as well as some later pieces, are among the 250 lots for sale in Whyte's first art sale of the year at the RDS on February 17th.
A portrait of John F Kennedy by Patrick Hennessy RHA makes a dramatic statement. The large oil on canvas Farewell to Ireland depicts President Kennedy boarding a plane and reaching down to outstretched hands. It refers to President Kennedy's official visit to Ireland in 1963 and is estimated at €8,000-€10,000.
Some years later, Robert Ballagh was making pop art versions of famous paintings, such as his version of Delacroix's Liberty Guiding the People, which he called Liberty on the Barricades; this referred to the Troubles in 1969. However, in 1976 he revisited this subject in My Studio 1969 which is for sale in this auction (€20,000-€30,000).
His painting of Liberty is shown behind a table containing brushes, masking tape, a tin of Cow gum, a snapshot of Delacroix's original painting and a half hidden copy of The Irish Independent dated August 13th, 1969 with a headline "in Derry", referring to riots in Derry that day.
Among the earlier works is a 1903 landscape with sheep and shepherd entitled Early Morning on the Shannon (€12,000-€15,000) by Dublin painter Joseph Malachy Kavanagh.
Using a similar palette is James Humbert Craig's Sunday in Connemara (€15,000-€20,000), a smallish work showing a group of people in traditional dress walking to Mass.
Two Girls by the Shore by George Russell (€12,000-€15,000) shows two girls in conversation relaxing near a moonlit beach. There are other lovely paintings in this sale which might be ideal for someone starting a collection with estimates in the low thousands.