Auction Date:2011 May 30 @ 18:00 (UTC+1)
Location:Royal Dublin Society, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Dublin, ., Ireland
Mícheál MacLíammóir (1899-1978)
CENTAURS, 1917
pen and ink with gouache heightened with white
signed [MICHAEL WILLMORE.1917] lower left; with title inscribed in block capitals in the margin beneath the mount; with typed label affixed to original backing board
23 by 15cm., 9 by 6in.
Provenance:Gifted by the artist to the present owner's father
‘Micheal Mac Liammoir, Designs & Illustrations 1917-1972’, Cork Arts Society Gallery, April 1973 presented by the Dublin Arts Festival and An Chomhairle Ealaíon
‘All for Hecuba. An exhibition to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Edwards – Mac Liammóir partnership and of the Gate Theatre 1928-1978’, Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, 2 October – 2 November, 1978, catalogue no. 3 as Five Pictures, 1917, of which these are three
Sheet size to include margin: 11.25 by 7.75ins.
These three exceedingly rare and early examples by English-born Irish actor, dramatist, impresario, writer, poet and painter Mícheál Mac Líammóir are perhaps the earliest of his ouevre ever offered, dating to 1917. Enchanting and, at the same time, slightly sinister they exude all the charm and Celtic mysticism one might expect from a Renaissance man of the era and are testament to the artist’s imagination which repeatedly drew inspiration from ancient Irish folklore as well as from his celebrated contemporary, Jack Butler Yeats.
Born Michael Willmore, near London, the artist began his career early as a child actor playing roles such as Oliver Twist at the tender age of eleven at His Majesty’s Theatre. As a young man he became fascinated with the Irish language and joined a London branch of the Gaelic League and became a self-taught gaelgóir. Theo Snoddy notes, “On coming to Dublin, he signed his watercolours Michael Willmore but in a small part at the Abbey Theatre in 1917 he became Mícheál MacLiammóir.”
Amusingly, these early works trace this transition, two are signed “Micheal Willmore, 1917”, the latter is signed “Míceál Mac Uallmóir”. Snoddy notes an astonishing twelve different signature formats throughout the artist’s career. In 1928 Mac Líammóir founded The Gate Theatre with partner Hilton Edwards, who aptly described his graphic work as having, “…a romantic beauty, an evocation of things other than the obvious and the commonplace. An almost foot-light glamour is never really absent from them, or at least a light not seen by ordinary eyes. Never is gaiety far from his work, and there is always a sense of other-worldliness, whether that other world be of the Sidhe or of those lands that lie behind the theatre curtain that is about to rise.” (Foreword, The Dublin Arts Festival catalogue)
These works were gifted by the artist to the current owner’s father who was a friend and colleague of the artist and have since been lent to several exhibitions as well as to Radió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) c.1999 for the documentary, Dear Boy: The Story of Mícheál Mac Líammóir.
Auction Location:
Royal Dublin Society, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Dublin, ., Ireland
Previewing Details:
The Clyde Rooms, Royal Dublin Society,
Anglesea Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Saturday 28 May 10am to 6pm
Sunday 29 May 10am to 6pm
Monday 30 May 10am to 6pm
Guided tours of the exhibition will take place at 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, 28 and 29 May
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| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
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20% |
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