William John Leech Paintings & Artwork for Sale | William John Leech Art Value Price Guide

Sep. 25, 2024
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Boats - Tuckton Creek Oil on board, 35 x 26cm (13_ x 10_) Signed Provenance: Collection of Finbarr & Moyra O'Donovan
Est: €7,000 - €10,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Boats - Tuckton Creek Oil on board, 35 x 26cm (13_ x 10_) Signed Provenance: Collection of Finbarr & Moyra O'Donovan
Adam's
Sep. 06, 2024
The Goose Girl 23x27inch colour print by the artist William Leech (1881-1968). Good condition. All
Est: £14 - £18
The Goose Girl 23x27inch colour print by the artist William Leech (1881-1968). Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Chaucer Auctions
May. 27, 2024
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) THE PLACE, CONCARNEAU, MORNING
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) THE PLACE, CONCARNEAU, MORNING oil on board signed lower right; titled on original label on reverse; also with Jorgensen Fine Art label on reverse h:8 w:6.25 in. Provenance: Jorgensen Fine Art, Dublin; Private collection A very similar view to the present work is illustrated in Denise Ferran's book William John Leech: An Irish Painter Abroad (National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1996) p122-123, no. 14 Still Evening, Concarneau. Ferran notes how, "Leech uses the thin trunks of the plane-trees to frame the boats in the harbour, resulting in a gentle landscape. It is through these small, instantaneous works that Leech's style develops."
Whyte's
May. 02, 2024
A Shining Palace, Venice
Est: €40,000 - €60,000
William John Leech 1881 - 1968 A Shining Palace signed Leech (lower right); also signed W.J. Leech., titled and inscribed (on the stretcher bar) oil on canvas unframed: 61 by 50cm.; 24 by 19¾in. framed: 82 by 71cm.; 32¼ by 28in. Executed circa 1911. ---------------------------------------------------- William John Leech 1881 - 1968 A Shining Palace signé Leech (en bas à droite); aussi signé W.J.Leech, titré et inscrit (sur la chassis) huile sur toile sans cadre: 61 by 50cm.; 24 by 19¾in. avec cadre: 82 by 71cm.; 32¼ by 28in. Exécuté vers 1911.
Sotheby's
Mar. 06, 2024
λ WILLIAM JOHN LEECH (IRISH 1881 - 1968), BUILDING THE NEW BRIDGE
Est: £800 - £1,200
λ WILLIAM JOHN LEECH (IRISH 1881 - 1968) BUILDING THE NEW BRIDGEOil on boardSigned (lower right)70 x 121cm (27½ x 47½ in.)
Dreweatts 1759 Fine Sales
Mar. 06, 2024
λ WILLIAM JOHN LEECH (IRISH 1881 - 1968), BUILDING THE NEW BRIDGE WITH COWS IN A FIELD
Est: £800 - £1,200
λ WILLIAM JOHN LEECH (IRISH 1881 - 1968) BUILDING THE NEW BRIDGE WITH COWS IN A FIELDOil on boardSigned (lower left)70 x 120cm (27½ x 47 in.)
Dreweatts 1759 Fine Sales
Dec. 12, 2023
Â§ WILLIAM JOHN LEECH, R.H.A. (IRISH, 1881-1968)
Est: £3,000 - £5,000
Â§ WILLIAM JOHN LEECH, R.H.A. (IRISH, 1881-1968) WILLIAM JOHN LEECH, R.H.A. (IRISH, 1881-1968) Harbour Scene signed and dated 'Leech 63' (lower left) oil on canvas 23 .5 x 34.3 cm. (9 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.) William Leech, an Irish painter and illustrator, explored a diverse array of subjects in his art, encompassing both outdoor and indoor scenes. His portfolio included coastal and harbour views, landscapes, interiors, still life, and portraits. Recognized for his vibrant use of colour, Leech drew inspiration from Impressionist masters like Monet and Cezanne, as well as Post-Impressionist painters such as Matisse and Van Gogh. Born in Dublin, Leech initially honed his artistic skills at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art before continuing his studies under the Irish Impressionist landscape painter Walter Osborne at the Royal Hibernian Academy. In 1903, he ventured to Paris, where he found inspiration in the French countryside. During this time, he visited the Breton village of Concarneau, a gathering place for artists, including his friends Aloysius O'Kelly and John Lavery. While in Concarneau until 1917, Leech became known for his depictions of the village's harbour. Notably, his early French works were characterized by darker colours, evolving over time to the bright, rich palette that became his signature. Like Roderic O'Conor, another artist he shared common ground with, Leech studied and absorbed Impressionist methods during their time in Brittany, revealing influences of Van Gogh and Matisse. However, Leech also drew from more conservative sources such as William Orpen and Norman Garstin. In his later English paintings, parallels can be drawn with the works of contemporary British artists like Gerald Kelly and William Nicholson.
Chiswick Auctions
Dec. 04, 2023
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) LE CHATEAU, NICE
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) LE CHATEAU, NICE oil on board signed lower right; signed, titled and with artist's address on reverse h:10 w:8 in.
Whyte's
Dec. 04, 2023
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) LANDSCAPE, SOUTH OF FRANCE
Est: €2,000 - €3,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) LANDSCAPE, SOUTH OF FRANCE watercolour signed lower right h:13.25 w:19 in. Provenance: Pyms Gallery, London; Private collection
Whyte's
Nov. 29, 2023
William John Leech R.H.A. (Irish, 1881-1968) Etude Clandon Station
Est: £7,000 - £10,000
William John Leech R.H.A. (Irish, 1881-1968) Etude Clandon Station signed 'Leech' (lower right) oil on board 38 x 46cm (14 15/16 x 18 1/8in).
Bonhams
Nov. 29, 2023
William John Leech R.H.A. (Irish, 1881-1968) At Looe, Cornwall
Est: £1,000 - £1,500
William John Leech R.H.A. (Irish, 1881-1968) At Looe, Cornwall signed 'Leech' (lower right); further signed, titled and inscribed with Artist's address 'At Looe, Cornwall/W.J. Leech/4 Steeles Studios/Haverstock Hill/London N.W.3.' (on Artist's label attached to backboard) watercolour on paper 34.5 x 24.5cm (13 9/16 x 9 5/8in).
Bonhams
Oct. 02, 2023
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) THE TERRACE, c.1940
Est: €10,000 - €15,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) THE TERRACE, c.1940 oil on panel signed lower left; titled on Dawson Gallery label on reverse h:15 w:18 in. Provenance: Dawson Gallery, Dublin; Private collection; Christie's, 20 May 1999, lot 208; Private collection; Whyte's, 23 February 2015, lot 22; Private collection Exhibited: Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 1940, catalogue no. 106
Whyte's
Jun. 28, 2023
A Shining Palace
Est: £50,000 - £70,000
Property from a Private European Collection William John Leech 1881 - 1968 A Shining Palace signed Leech (lower right); also signed W.J. Leech., titled and inscribed (on the stretcher bar) oil on canvas unframed: 61 by 50cm.; 24 by 19¾in. framed: 82 by 71cm.; 32¼ by 28in. Executed circa 1911.
Sotheby's
Jun. 21, 2023
William John Leech R.H.A. (Irish, 1881-1968) Spring Flowers 50.8 x 40.6 cm. (20 x 16 in.)
Est: £7,000 - £10,000
William John Leech R.H.A. (Irish, 1881-1968) Spring Flowers signed 'Leech.' (lower left); further signed and titled 'Spring Flowers./W.J. Leech. R.H.A.' (on an artist's label attached to the stretcher); and signed again 'W.J. Leech. R.H.A.' (on another artist's label attached to the frame) oil on canvas 50.8 x 40.6 cm. (20 x 16 in.)
Bonhams
Apr. 18, 2023
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Home Practice: Michael O'Neill of the Dublin Chamber Orchestra c.1910
Est: €10,000 - €15,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Home Practice: Michael O'Neill of the Dublin Chamber Orchestra c.1910 oil on canvas inscribed on the reverse, on the canvas edge "Home Practice, Michael O'Neill of the Dublin Chamber Orchestra" h:61.50 w:51.50 cm. Provenance: These Rooms, 21st October 2019 lot 56; Private Collection Literature: Denise Ferran's 1997 PhD. thesis on William John Leech (TCD 9405, p.94), catalogued and illustrated. This painting depicts the musician Michael O'Neill, playing the violincello in an informal setting. Although the room appears to be a drawing room, there are several paintings leaning against the wall, hinting that it may also have served as a studio. The door to the room is open, casting a shadow on the floor. Wearing round horn-rimmed spectacles, O'Neill is seated on a round-backed chair, playing a 'cello. Dressed in a dark business suit, with white handkerchief in the breast pocket, and shirt and tie, he concentrates on the fingering, as he draws the bow across the strings. Behind him is a Rococo-style couch, upholstered in green silk. The walls of the room are grey-panelled, and this, and the style of the door, hints that this painting may have been done in France. Ferran dates the work to circa 1910, three years before Leech painted what is perhaps his best-known canvas, A Convent Garden, Brittany (NGI). On the reverse of the portrait is another painting, of trees in a park. Leech was evidently dissatisfied with this sketch, and, turning over the canvas, re-used it for the portrait of O'Neill. The sketch depicts mature trees, a red-brick wall and a large gate pier, the architectural style of which corroborates the idea that it was painted in France. While Leech's paintings may lack the visual drama of works by John Lavery or John Singer Sargent, their quiet tonal harmonies, enlivened by an occasional use of bright colour, are evidence of an artist who painted with sincerity and feeling. In his portrait of O'Neill, Leech used a restrained palette of grey, brown and green tones. The composition of the painting is a study in angles, with the 'cello at right angles to the bow, and the musician's right arm. The floor is also depicted using diagonals, adding a sense of liveliness to the composition. Born in Dublin in 1881, Leech was educated privately, at St. Columba's College, and also in Switzerland. In 1898 he returned to Ireland, to study at the Metropolitan School of Art, transferring not long afterwards to the Royal Hibernian Academy schools, where the teaching of Walter Osborne and Nathaniel Hone was an important influence. In 1901 he moved to Paris, enrolling at the Academie Julian. He remained in France for the next ten years, living in Paris and Brittany, and regularly sending his work to the RHA in Dublin. Often painted in the open air, his paintings were well-received, winning him the Taylor Prize four times. In 1907 he had an exhibition at Leinster Hall in Dublin, along with two fellow-students from the Academie Julien, Constance Gore-Booth and Casimir Dunin Markiewicz. Leech was elected a member of the RHA in 1910, the same year he and his parents moved to London. For the rest of his life, he lived either in England or on the Continent, but continued to show at the RHA. In 1912, the year of his marriage, Leech showed forty-one paintings of Venice and Switzerland, at the Goupil Gallery in London. In 1917 he was with fellow-artist Sydney Thompson in Marseille, and three years later was in North Africa. Although he established a good reputation early on in his career, Leech was not financially successful. In 1953, his first marriage having failed, he was married for a second time, to May Botterell, and set up a studio in Surrey. He died after falling from a railway bridge in Surrey in 1968. Peter Murray, March 2023
Morgan O'Driscoll
Mar. 06, 2023
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) PLAYING BY THE SHORE
Est: €10,000 - €15,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) PLAYING BY THE SHORE oil on canvas board signed lower right h:8 w:12.50 in. Provenance: Sotheby's, London, 16 May 1996, lot 477; Private collection; Whyte's, 26 November 2018, lot 19; Private collection Leech painted children on beaches at Concarneau, Les Martiques and Hammamet in Tunisia, capturing the sunlight on water and on the children playing on the sand. His approach to the subject varied according to his stylistic development at the time. The present work relates closely to Beach Scene (Private collection and illustrated in Denise Ferran, William John Leech: An Irish Painter Abroad, NGI, Dublin, 1996, p.203, catalogue no. 54). These are possibly earlier examples from this series, painted in Concarneau, when Leech was strongly influenced by Whistler and Osborne, evidenced in the close harmonies and subtle tones of the palette. Like Beach Scene, the present example allows the water to fill the canvas while the figures - which are similarly freely drawn in the paint - paddle or sit at the water's edge.
Whyte's
Mar. 01, 2023
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Self Portrait with Window and Table Oil on board, 50 x 38cm (19¾ x 15'') Signed Taylor Gallery label verso Listed as No.5 Self-portrait with window and table in the list compiled by Leo Smith of paintings
Est: €10,000 - €15,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Self Portrait with Window and Table Oil on board, 50 x 38cm (19¾ x 15'') Signed Taylor Gallery label verso Listed as No.5 Self-portrait with window and table in the list compiled by Leo Smith of paintings by W.J. Leech in his studio at Clandon, 5 September 1968, for Greenwood & Loryman. Provenance: Accountants, London for death duty purposes by the Dawson Gallery, 4 Dawson St., Dublin 2. When William (Bill) Leech, with his wife May Botterell, moved out of London to live at West Clandon, near Guildford in Surrey, in 1958, Leech was already in his late 70s. Moving into his newly built studio, in the garden, gave him renewed energy to paint and his subject matter was mainly his garden and his self-portraits. These Self-portraits depict Leech wearing his black hat, to cover his white and balding head, looking searchingly out towards the viewer, sitting posed in front of his Aloes series, painted in the 30s. He is questioning his lifes work as a painter. In this Self-portrait Leech is not wearing his debonair black hat, but captures himself in his casual jacket and open neck shirt, framed by the lighted window onto the garden. Always aware compositionally, he sits to the right, with the edge of the table forming a strong diagonal towards the upright metal bar of the window. Clothes draped casually over the edge of the chair to the left and the green ceramic vase with its darker green plant, all create his studio environment. Leechs searching expression is now more haunted, with a hint of despair, perhaps reflecting on his long life as a painter, during which he did not achieve the promise of his early success. When he wrote to Leo Smith, of the Dawson Gallery in 1966, he recognized this failure; You see not much success really but you cannot be a recluse all your life as I have been and have worldly success. I had an idea when young, that if the work was good enough it would sell in the end. The end is the word This is one of the last Self-portraits Leech painted and it maintains all the dexterity and skill the painter possessed. When his second wife May died on 10th July 1963, aged eighty-three years, Leech was a very lonely man and 5 years later on 16th July 1968 at age eighty-eight, after being diagnosed as terminally ill, Leech fell from the railway bridge at West Clandon onto the tracks below. Dr Denise Ferran August 2021
Adam's
Jun. 06, 2022
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) THE FAIR, CONCARNEAU, FRANCE
Est: €2,000 - €3,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) THE FAIR, CONCARNEAU, FRANCE oil on board h:6.25 w:8 in.
Whyte's
May. 26, 2022
Sardine Boat
Est: £3,000 - £5,000
William Leech, R.H.A. 1881 - 1968 Sardine Boat signed LEECH (lower right) oil on panel unframed: 15 by 21.5cm.; 6 by 8½in. framed: 51 by 40.5cm.; 20 by 16in. Bid on Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Mar. 30, 2022
William John Leech RHA (1881-1938) Tug on the Thames Oil on board, 13 x 20cm (5 X 7¾'') Signed This is one of series of works painted by Leech of the Thames around the Billingsgate area in London, painted from 1939 onwards. The view of th
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
William John Leech RHA (1881-1938) Tug on the Thames Oil on board, 13 x 20cm (5 X 7¾'') Signed This is one of series of works painted by Leech of the Thames around the Billingsgate area in London, painted from 1939 onwards. The view of the quays and the tug from under the arch of a bridge if offset by the dominant horizontal of a further bridge beyond. The swell of the icy water is captured in strong brushstrokes in tones of grey and blue. These works are evocative of Monet's view of Westminster, seen in muted tones and captured in atmospheric light.
Adam's
Feb. 25, 2022
William Leech coloured print titled 'The Goose Girl' Approx 23 x 27., 1881-1968, Published by
Est: £20 - £30
William Leech coloured print titled 'The Goose Girl' Approx 23 x 27., 1881-1968, Published by Royal Publications Limited 1981. Printed in England. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £4.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Chaucer Auctions
Dec. 18, 2021
William John Leech (1881 - 1968) Ireland, England, France
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
William John Leech (1881 - 1968) Oil / Board ,Signed Lower Left ,measures 9" x 13" inches
Cutler Bay Auctions
Dec. 08, 2021
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Hillside Landscape with Trees Watercolour, 34.5 x 24.5cm (13½ x 9¾'') Signed
Est: €1,500 - €2,500
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Hillside Landscape with Trees Watercolour, 34.5 x 24.5cm (13½ x 9¾'') Signed
Adam's
Dec. 08, 2021
William John Leech RHA (1881-1938) Grey Bridge, Regent's Park Oil on canvas, 77 x 97cm (30¼ x 38¼'') Signed Provenance: The Dawson Gallery where purchased by Mr James J. Stafford. Later with the Godolphin Gallery, Dublin July 1979 where purc
Est: €20,000 - €30,000
William John Leech RHA (1881-1938) Grey Bridge, Regent's Park Oil on canvas, 77 x 97cm (30¼ x 38¼'') Signed Provenance: The Dawson Gallery where purchased by Mr James J. Stafford. Later with the Godolphin Gallery, Dublin July 1979 where purchased by Mr & Mrs Roth and thence from the estate of William Roth. Exhibited: The Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition 1959 Cat. No. 16 Leech's Regents Park series was one of his longest comprising over twenty known works and stretching in time from 1935 over the following 25 years. The location was one the artist returned to many times when he could not travel to France. Just a short walk downhill from his studio at Steele's Studios Leech found subject matter he could sketch plein air and then work up into exhibition pieces back at the studio. In fact a nearly identical but much smaller work to this from the McClelland Collection had been exhibited a year earlier at the RHA and was included in the Leech retrospective An Irish Painter Abroad in The National Gallery of Ireland in 1997. Writing about that work in the catalogue Denise Ferran writes :- ' Grey Bridge, Regents Park is painted in a silverly light with York Bridge, a high horizon- band of subdued umber tones, merging into the soft blue-grey tones of the background. In the foreground, the river reflects the cool grey of a winter sky which mingles with the muddy browns and greens of the still water. All the edges of objects, solid or reflected, are blurred and softened; the top of the bridge is masked by the overhanging grey- green leaves of a weeping willow.' We acknowledge Denise Ferran whose writings on Leech formed the basis of this catalogue entry.
Adam's
Sep. 29, 2021
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Self Portrait with Window and Table Oil on board, 50 x 38cm (19¾ x 15'') Signed Provenance: Taylor Label on back. Listed as No.5 Self-portrait with window and table in the list compiled by Leo Smith of
Est: €20,000 - €30,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Self Portrait with Window and Table Oil on board, 50 x 38cm (19¾ x 15'') Signed Provenance: Taylor Label on back. Listed as No.5 Self-portrait with window and table in the list compiled by Leo Smith of paintings by W.J.Leech in his studio at Clandon, 5 September 1968, for Greenwood & Loryman. Accountants, London for death duty purposes by the Dawson Gallery, 4 Dawson St., Dublin 2. When William (Bill) Leech, with his wife May Botterell, moved out of London to live at West Clandon, near Guildford in Surrey, in 1958, Leech was already in his late 70s. Moving into his newly built studio, in the garden, gave him renewed energy to paint and his subject matter was mainly his garden and his self-portraits. These Self-portraits depict Leech wearing his black hat, to cover his white and balding head, looking searchingly out towards the viewer, sitting posed in front of his Aloes series, painted in the 30s. He is questioning his lifes work as a painter. In this Self-portrait Leech is not wearing his debonair black hat, but captures himself in his casual jacket and open neck shirt, framed by the lighted window onto the garden. Always aware compositionally, he sits to the right, with the edge of the table forming a strong diagonal towards the upright metal bar of the window. Clothes draped casually over the edge of the chair to the left and the green ceramic vase with its darker green plant, all create his studio environment. Leechs searching expression is now more haunted, with a hint of despair, perhaps reflecting on his long life as a painter, during which he did not achieve the promise of his early success. When he wrote to Leo Smith, of the Dawson Gallery in 1966, he recognized this failure; You see not much success really but you cannot be a recluse all your life as I have been and have worldly success. I had an idea when young, that if the work was good enough it would sell in the end. The end is the word This is one of the last Self-portraits Leech painted and it maintains all the dexterity and skill the painter possessed. When his second wife May died on 10th July 1963, aged eighty-three years, Leech was a very lonely man and 5 years later on 16th July 1968 at age eighty-eight, after being diagnosed as terminally ill, Leech fell from the railway bridge at West Clandon onto the tracks below. Dr Denise Ferran August 2021
Adam's
Jun. 02, 2021
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) - Girl in a Garden (Sunshine and Shadows)
Est: €10,000 - €15,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Girl in a Garden (Sunshine and Shadows) c.1924 Oil on canvas, 60 x 40cm (23½ x 15¾'') Exhibited: Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland, 'William John Leech: An Irish Painter Abroad', October/December 1996, Catalogue No.48, full page illustration page 193. Provenance: Previously in the collection of Blather Burke, then the collection of Pat & Antoinette Murphy, acquired from The Dawson Gallery. Literature: 'William John Leech, An Irish Painter Abroad', Denise Ferran & NGI, 1996, pgs, 190 - 193, illus in colour, p.193 William John Leech's older brother Cecil, had served in the First World War and had met Percy Botterell, a very successful London lawyer, who with his wife May, worked in the Hague to repatriate soldiers returning from the front, introduced the Botterells to the Leech family when both parties returned to London. Percy Botterell, commissioned Leech to paint a portrait of his wife in 1919. This meeting resulted in May Botterell becoming Leech's partner until they eventually married in 1953, after Percy's death, in 1952. The Botterells had three children, Jim, Guy and Suzanne, all of whom Percy commissioned Leech to paint. All were greatly affected by their mother's relationship with Leech, an Irish painter, without means. After the outbreak of the Second World War, Leech and his partner, May Botterell escaped from the London bombings, which damaged Leech's Steele's Studio, to his brother Cecil's small stud farm in Ham Green, Kent. Cecil Leech's, wife Babs was a painter and she welcomed 'Bill' as the family called him and also May Botterell and her daughter Suzanne. Leech had painted Suzanne c. 1920 after his first meeting with the Botterell family, capturing her vulnerability and childlike, wide-eyed innocence. This painting of Suzanne, with the rich pastures of Kent behind her, was probably painted four or five years later when Leech and May were staying at Ham Green. The work captures a more relaxed Suzanne, with white pinny and long blond hair. Due to Suzanne's young age she accompanied her mother everywhere she went with Leech. This fact was verified by, Babs Leech, in my many conversations with her, throughout the 1980's and early 90's. Both Leech's relatives and May Botterell's relatives generously gave the couple safe lodgings during and after the war years, with Leech repaying this kindness with his paintings. Suzanne Botterell became a singer and performed in nightclubs in London until she married the owner of a chocolate factory. She then became a recluse, dropping all contact with her family but she did respond to my letter, from the address of decades earlier, which I had previously garnered from the back of a Leech painting. Dr Denise Ferran, May 2021 Starting Bid: € 7000
Adam's
May. 31, 2021
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) ON THE HILL OF HOWTH
Est: €8,000 - €12,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) ON THE HILL OF HOWTH oil on canvas signed lower right; inscribed on stretcher and with several inscribed labels on reverse h:10.75 w:20 in. Provenance: Christie's, London, 10 May 2007, lot 119; Private collection; Whyte's, 28 April 2008, lot 98; Private collection Alternatively known as Gorse Bushes. In the original frame of Daniel Egan, Lower Ormond Quay, and with labels on reverse listing the artist’s address variously as 6 Victoria Villas, Morehampton Road (his address in 1909) and care of Lily Williams ARHA, 18 Lower Pembroke Street. An older label on reverse gives the title of another of Leech’s work, Le Sable Blanc, Concarneau, which was exhibited in the RHA in 1909.
Whyte's
Oct. 19, 2020
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) RAINY DAY - FINISTÈRE MARKET, CONCARNEAU, c.1904
Est: €12,000 - €18,000
signed lower left
Whyte's
Sep. 02, 2020
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)St. Anne and the PoppiesOil on canvas, 55 x 46cm (21½ x 18'')Signed; inscribed versoWhen Leechs parents departed their Dublin home, Wilmar, Dartry Road, for London in 1910, Leech divided his life between Lon
Est: €6,000 - €10,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)St. Anne and the PoppiesOil on canvas, 55 x 46cm (21½ x 18'')Signed; inscribed versoWhen Leechs parents departed their Dublin home, Wilmar, Dartry Road, for London in 1910, Leech divided his life between London and France, from then until after the First World War. During this period, he lived in Concarneau, in Brittany with his American partner, fellow artist Saurin Elizabeth Kerlin, who became his wife in 1912. However, after Leechs first visit to Concarneau in 1903, where he first met Elizabeth, he returned again in 1904, at the same time that Lavery returned to paint with his friend Milner Kite. Kites painting style and bright palette influenced Leech, which is evident in Leechs painting Caves in Concarneau with its Fauve colours. St.Anne and the Poppies has echoes of this palette with the bright orange of the poppies, one of which makes a halo behind St. Annes head, contrasted against the strong greens and blues in the foreground and background.Brittany was, and indeed, still is a religious area of France and the earliest saint associated with the region is St. Anne with LEglise du Sainte-Anne du Pasage, in Concarneau. It was customary to create a small altar to St. Anne in homes, with a vase of flowers and candles, as in this painting. This was a suitable subject for Leech, in his use of strident colour bathed in strong sunlight, coming from the left. Traditionally St. Anne was depicted in two main colours, red and green, one for love and the other for rebirth, as she was the mother of the Virgin Mary. The Gospel of St. James, details the life of St. Anne who was from Bethlehem and her husband Joachim, who was from Nazareth, both described as being from the House of David. Traditionally too, the statue of St. Anne usually has a young Mary beside her but in this work St. Anne has the figure of a Rabbi. This work has all the hallmarks of a later Leech, in the diagonal created by the fallen poppy on the table top, the effect of light on the glass vase and the stems and leaves of the poppy in his search for sunlight and shadows.As Leech has inscribed RHA after his name, this work dates after 1910 when Leech rented a large house, overlooking the sea at Plage des Dames, a sheltered curved bay of silvery, shingled sand, on the outskirts of Concarneau. Leech continued to painted some of his best work between 1910 and 1918, before the effects of the Great War and the breakup of his marriage in 1919, which destroyed these times of happiness and hope and this period of his life.Dr Denise FerranFebruary 2020
Adam's
Dec. 04, 2019
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)The Bridge in Regent's Park (c.1935)Oil on canvas, 49 x 60cm (19¼ x 23½'')SignedAway from France and living in London, Leech turned to locations for landscape subjects, which were close at hand. Regents Par
Est: €10,000 - €15,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)The Bridge in Regent's Park (c.1935)Oil on canvas, 49 x 60cm (19¼ x 23½'')SignedAway from France and living in London, Leech turned to locations for landscape subjects, which were close at hand. Regents Park was a short walk downhill from his studio at 4 Steeles Studios, Haverstock Hill, N.W.3 and he began a series of paintings, which is possibly Leechs longest, comprising over twenty works. The first painting titled The Bridge, Regents Park was exhibited at the R.H.A in 1935 and judging from its price, it was more likely to have been a watercolour. This was a common practice for Leech, working en plein air, and then developing the work in oils, on a larger scale, in his studio. He wrote to Leo Smith in January 1953, telling him that he was still painting in Regents Park at that time; By the way, I am getting £60 for The Bridge. This fact may encourage your customer. I .am now working in Regents Park again, which is really lovely when it is fine. The influence of Monet is again apparent in this Regents Park series, in particular with Monets scene at Giverny, Morning Mists, 1897 (N.Carolina Museum, Raleigh, USA). Leech painted in Regents Park throughout the year, even in the winter months as in this work. Here, he focuses on the main arch of the bridge heightened by the diagonal formed by the fence in the foreground which frames the water and which is repeated in the railings on the parapet of the bridge. The reflections of both in the browns and grey blues of the water and the ochres of the bank and the umbers of the tree trunks, suggest early winter with a silvery grey reflected sky. Although this work had labels on the back of the frame, denoting No.2. Back Gardens, this is a completely different work, which Leech exhibited at the R.H.A in 1944, from 20, Abbey Road, London, N.W.8, his partner, May Botterells flat. Leech kept to a small range of canvas sizes, which allowed him to reuse frames from unsold works. When Steeles Studio was badly damaged, several times during the 2nd World War, Leech used 20 Abbey Road as his studio address. Dr Denise Ferran, October 2019.
Adam's
Dec. 04, 2019
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)Boats Oil on panel, 37 x 46cm (14½ x 18'')SignedProvenance: Sent by W.J. Leech to Leo Smith, Dawson Gallery, via Bourlet, 20/03/51. Recorded in the list, for death duties, by Leo Smith, No. 26 'Boats', as wor
Est: €8,000 - €12,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)Boats Oil on panel, 37 x 46cm (14½ x 18'')SignedProvenance: Sent by W.J. Leech to Leo Smith, Dawson Gallery, via Bourlet, 20/03/51. Recorded in the list, for death duties, by Leo Smith, No. 26 'Boats', as works retained in the Dawson Gallery.Leech stayed at Christchurch, when May Botterell, then his long term partner, was ill and was cared for by her family at Burnley in the New Forest, which was close by. He wrote to his New Zealand friend S.L.Thompson, dated 5 May 1948; I am not, however, at 20 Abbey Rd at the moment but at Christchurch, Hants,..it is in sight of the Isle of Wight, on a land locked sea . He painted the region, the old Church and graveyard and the River Stour, which is joined by the River Avon before it flows through the harbour into the English Channel. The harbour at Christchurch was used to land oysters, crab, lobster and cuttle fish and the river is navigable up to Tuckton where Leech also did a series of paintings Tuckton Creek - Sunlight and Tuckton Creek (Municipal Art Collection, Drogheda) which depict similar boats moored in the harbour as in High tide on the Stour, 1949 (Coll. Parknasilla Hotel, Kerry) which is a freely painted scene of still water with boats moored along the far bank. In the present work, Boats similar, small, flat-bottomed rowing boats, moored along the banks of a river are depicted. Leech captures sunlight on the boats and water, using light tones of yellow and Cerulean blue. He paints the water and the reflections of the boats, bathed in sunshine, in a free, fluid style, rendering the viscosity of the water in strokes of light blues and soft greens. On the back of the painting, in Leechs handwriting, he has written Flake White and Aureolin which is sometimes referred to as Cobalt Yellow, which may have been guidance to a picture restorer. Characteristically he has written in block letters WAXED to prevent anyone varnishing the work. There is a stamp from the art supplier, L.Rontani, Rue de President, Nice on the back of the panel but Leech used materials he had previously purchased in France, where he had been unable to visit after the outbreak of the war in 1939. There is also a label referring to the Centenary Exhibition in Wellington, N.Z, 1939-1940 which Leech participated in, but it had to have been an earlier work than Boats. In his letter to S.L.Thompson, he wrote that There is quite a lot of sunshine here, it must be one of the sunniest places in England, and there are boats and water Leech has regained some of his former confidence in using light and colour and now, out of London, after the war, he is motivated by the colour of the boats on the water along the quiet estuary. There is a Bourlet Label on the back and checking the transport agents, Bourlet records, the firm brought in 8 works on 17:3:51. In a letter to Leo Smith on 20th March 1951, Leech wrote that he had despatched to Bourlets yesterday for you. It may be necessary to add a little to the prices to help cover the expense of framing if that is rather a heavy item as it may be these times. One of these 8 works, No.3, is titled Boats, which is oil on panel and which is the same size as the present work. These 8 works were sent to the Dawson Gallery for Leechs solo exhibition of thirty-three works, planned for May 1951 with Sean Keating opening the show. Leech had already sent over eighteen paintings in August 1950 and a further fourteen paintings in October 1950. In his letter to Leo Smith he wrote: I do hope you will like them, I think they are rather a good lot myself. I hope you will let me know how you like the pictures, and that they will arrive quickly and safely. Dr Denise Ferran, October 2019.
Adam's
Oct. 23, 2019
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)Little Girl (Study for 'Twas Brillig')Pencil, 33 x 25cm (13 x 9¾)SignedProvenance: With the Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin; The Dawson Gallery, Dublin.
Est: €600 - €800
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)Little Girl (Study for 'Twas Brillig')Pencil, 33 x 25cm (13 x 9¾)SignedProvenance: With the Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin; The Dawson Gallery, Dublin.
Adam's
Oct. 21, 2019
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Home Practice: Michael O'Neill of the Dublin Chamber Orchestra c.1910
Est: €20,000 - €30,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Home Practice: Michael O'Neill of the Dublin Chamber Orchestra c.1910 oil on canvas inscribed on the reverse, on the canvas edge "Home Practice, Michael O'Neill of the Dublin Chamber Orchestra" h:61.50 w:51.50 cm. Provenance: Private Collection Literature: Denise Ferran's 1997 PhD. thesis on William John Leech (TCD 9405, p.94), catalogued and illustrated. This painting depicts the musician Michael O'Neill, playing the violincello in an informal setting. Although the room appears to be a drawing room, there are several paintings leaning against the wall, hinting that it may also have served as a studio. The door to the room is open, casting a shadow on the floor. Wearing round horn-rimmed spectacles, O'Neill is seated on a round-backed chair, playing a 'cello. Dressed in a dark business suit, with white handkerchief in the breast pocket, and shirt and tie, he concentrates on the fingering, as he draws the bow across the strings. Behind him is a Rococo-style couch, upholstered in green silk. The walls of the room are grey-panelled, and this, and the style of the door, hints that this painting may have been done in France. Ferran dates the work to circa 1910, three years before Leech painted what is perhaps his best-known canvas, A Convent Garden, Brittany (NGI). On the reverse of the portrait is another painting, of trees in a park. Leech was evidently dissatisfied with this sketch, and, turning over the canvas, re-used it for the portrait of O'Neill. The sketch depicts mature trees, a red-brick wall and a large gate pier, the architectural style of which corroborates the idea that it was painted in France. While Leech's paintings may lack the visual drama of works by John Lavery or John Singer Sargent, their quiet tonal harmonies, enlivened by an occasional use of bright colour, are evidence of an artist who painted with sincerity and feeling. In his portrait of O'Neill, Leech used a restrained palette of grey, brown and green tones. The composition of the painting is a study in angles, with the 'cello at right angles to the bow, and the musician's right arm. The floor is also depicted using diagonals, adding a sense of liveliness to the composition. Born in Dublin in 1881, Leech was educated privately, at St. Columba's College, and also in Switzerland. In 1898 he returned to Ireland, to study at the Metropolitan School of Art, transferring not long afterwards to the Royal Hibernian Academy schools, where the teaching of Walter Osborne and Nathaniel Hone was an important influence. In 1901 he moved to Paris, enrolling at the Academie Julian. He remained in France for the next ten years, living in Paris and Brittany, and regularly sending his work to the RHA in Dublin. Often painted in the open air, his paintings were well-received, winning him the Taylor Prize four times. In 1907 he had an exhibition at Leinster Hall in Dublin, along with two fellow-students from the Academie Julien, Constance Gore-Booth and Casimir Dunin Markiewicz. Leech was elected a member of the RHA in 1910, the same year he and his parents moved to London. For the rest of his life, he lived either in England or on the Continent, but continued to show at the RHA. In 1912, the year of his marriage, Leech showed forty-one paintings of Venice and Switzerland, at the Goupil Gallery in London. In 1917 he was with fellow-artist Sydney Thompson in Marseille, and three years later was in North Africa. Although he established a good reputation early on in his career, Leech was not financially successful. In 1953, his first marriage having failed, he was married for a second time, to May Botterell, and set up a studio in Surrey. He died after falling from a railway bridge in Surrey in 1968. Peter Murray, September 2019
Morgan O'Driscoll
Jun. 12, 2019
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)Portrait of James (Jim) Botterell (1926)Oil on canvas, 69 x 51cm (27 x 20'')SignedProvenance: From Mrs. Jim Botterell to Pyms Gallery, London; Whyte's 2007, where purchased by current owner.Exhibited: Dublin
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)Portrait of James (Jim) Botterell (1926)Oil on canvas, 69 x 51cm (27 x 20'')SignedProvenance: From Mrs. Jim Botterell to Pyms Gallery, London; Whyte's 2007, where purchased by current owner.Exhibited: Dublin, Royal Hibernian Academy 1926, Catalogue No.11, entitled 'Jim'.Literature: Denise Ferran, 'William John Leech: An Irish Painter Abroad', National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin 1996, Figure 42, illustrated page 71.
Adam's
Jun. 12, 2019
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)Girl in a Garden Oil on canvas, 60 x 40cm (23½ x 15¾'')Exhibited: Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland, 'William John Leech: An Irish Painter Abroad', October/December 1996, Catalogue No.48, full page illustrat
Est: €8,000 - €12,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968)Girl in a Garden Oil on canvas, 60 x 40cm (23½ x 15¾'')Exhibited: Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland, 'William John Leech: An Irish Painter Abroad', October/December 1996, Catalogue No.48, full page illustration page 193.Provenance: Collection of Patrick and Antoinette Murphy.Leech has painted an uncharacteristically low horizon line and a large expanse of sky as the little girl poses in the open air, against what appears to be a hay trough with an open landscape behind. This is possibly Suzanne, posing for Leech, now a few years older than when he painted her portrait (cat.47). Photographs show that, with May and Suzanne, Leech visited his brother Cecil's small stud farm at Ham Green in Kent in 1924, before Suzanne's long hair was cut. The countryside suggests the rich pastures of Kent with sunlight flooding into the painting, alighting on her blonde hair, on the front of her white pinny and on the expanse of the yellowy-green grass of the field. There is a hint of 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Twas Brillig' (cat.22), painted nearly fifteen years previously, but Leech has used a drier, textured style with overpainting and an emphasis on detail in the blonde tendrils of hair which fall on her young face. Here, he has focussed on a single figure, set into a landscape, as he did with Elizabeth in 'A Covent Garden' (cat.37), rather than on a landscape in which children mingle and are absorbed.We acknowledge Dr Denise Ferran and the National Gallery of Ireland 'William John Leech: An Irish Painter Abroad' for the above catalogue entry.
Adam's
May. 27, 2019
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) LUXEMBOURG GARDENS AND SENAT
Est: €10,000 - €15,000
signed lower right; signed and titled on reverse
Whyte's
May. 27, 2019
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) FLOWERS IN A VASE, STILL LIFE
Est: €50,000 - €70,000
signed lower left
Whyte's
Apr. 29, 2019
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Tug on the River Thames
Est: €8,000 - €12,000
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) Tug on the River Thames oil on board signed lower left h:13 w:20 cm. Provenance: James Adams, Dublin, Important Irish Art, 1st June 2016, Lot 37; Private Collection
Morgan O'Driscoll
Feb. 07, 2019
§ William John Leech (Irish, 1881–1968) - Garden, Grasse - oil on board
Est: £6,000 - £8,000
§ William John Leech (Irish, 1881–1968) Garden, Grasse. Hazel, Lady Lavery (1880-1935), to her daughter, Alice Gwynne, and by descent. signed lower right "Leech" oil on board h:37 w:45 cm Provenance: Hazel, Lady Lavery (1880-1935), to her daughter, Alice Gwynne, and by descent
Cheffins
Feb. 07, 2019
§ William John Leech (Irish, 1881–1968) A balcony, Grasse. Hazel, Lady Lavery (1880-1935), to her daughter, Alice Gwynne, and by des...
Est: £7,000 - £10,000
§ William John Leech (Irish, 1881–1968) A balcony, Grasse. Hazel, Lady Lavery (1880-1935), to her daughter, Alice Gwynne, and by descent. signed lower right "Leech" and inscribed with title to the reverse "No. 213 / A balcony, Grasse / W J Leech" oil on board h:46 w:37 cm Provenance: Hazel, Lady Lavery (1880-1935), to her daughter, Alice Gwynne, and by descent
Cheffins
Nov. 26, 2018
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) REGENT'S PARK, SUMMER, 1937
Est: €8,000 - €10,000
signed lower right
Whyte's
Nov. 26, 2018
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) PLAYING BY THE SHORE
Est: €8,000 - €10,000
signed lower right
Whyte's
Nov. 21, 2018
WILLIAM LEECH, R.H.A. | The Tea Trolley
Est: £50,000 - £70,000
oil on canvas
Sotheby's
Nov. 21, 2018
WILLIAM LEECH, R.H.A. | Statue of the Fragonard, Grasse
Est: £50,000 - £70,000
oil on canvas
Sotheby's
Oct. 01, 2018
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) CHILDREN ON THE BEACH WITH BREAKERS, 1912
Est: €15,000 - €20,000
signed lower left; signed, dedicated [A Madame Focastin et sa fille] and dated on stretcher (now concealed)
Whyte's
Oct. 01, 2018
William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) A LAWN
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
signed lower right; signed and inscribed with artist's address on label on reverse
Whyte's
Jun. 28, 2018
WILLIAM JOHN LEECH, RHA (1881-1968)
Est: €1,500 - €2,500
The Bull , Dublin Oil on canvas
Sheppards
Jun. 14, 2018
William John Leech (Irish, 1881-1968) A bronze bust of May Botterell
Est: £3,000 - £4,000
William John Leech (Irish, 1881-1968) A bronze bust of May Botterell
Bonhams