James McKenna Paintings & Artwork for Sale | James McKenna Art Value Price Guide

Dec. 02, 2024
James McKenna (1933-2000) NECK ROMANCER
Est: €3,500 - €4,500
James McKenna (1933-2000) NECK ROMANCER bronze; (no. 1 from an edition of 2) h:16 w:12 d:12 in.
Whyte's
Mar. 06, 2023
James McKenna (1933-2000) HURLERS
Est: €5,000 - €7,000
James McKenna (1933-2000) HURLERS bronze with brown patina on a slate base; (unique) h:15 w:21 d:2.50 in. Provenance: Collection of Vincent Ferguson; Christie's, 8 May 2009, lot 240; Private collection
Whyte's
Sep. 29, 2021
James McKenna (1933-2000) Emerging Horse and Rider Bronze, 15cm high x 18cm wide (5¾ x 7'') Signed and dated indistinctly Unique
Est: €1,000 - €1,500
James McKenna (1933-2000) Emerging Horse and Rider Bronze, 15cm high x 18cm wide (5¾ x 7'') Signed and dated indistinctly Unique
Adam's
Oct. 23, 2019
James McKenna (1933-2000)Dúil (Longing) (1969)White marble, 35 x 28 x 18cm (13¾ x 11 x 7)Exhibited: IMMA, 'Retrospective, Dublin November 2007 - March 2008, illustrated on the cover of the catalogue.Literature: 'James McKenna: A Catalogue with
Est: €2,000 - €3,000
James McKenna (1933-2000)Dúil (Longing) (1969)White marble, 35 x 28 x 18cm (13¾ x 11 x 7)Exhibited: IMMA, 'Retrospective, Dublin November 2007 - March 2008, illustrated on the cover of the catalogue.Literature: 'James McKenna: A Catalogue with Essays by Brian Fallon and Desmond Egan', Goldsmith Press 1988, illustrated three times in black and white over two pages.
Adam's
Oct. 23, 2019
James McKenna (1933-2000)Three FiguresCarved apple wood, 64cm high (25¼)Provenance: Purchased from the artist's last solo exhibition.
Est: €1,500 - €2,000
James McKenna (1933-2000)Three FiguresCarved apple wood, 64cm high (25¼)Provenance: Purchased from the artist's last solo exhibition.
Adam's
Oct. 23, 2019
James McKenna (1933-2000)Crouching Woman (c.1983)Yew, 83 x 30 x 28cm (32¾ x 11¾ x 11)Exhibited: London, Art Space Gallery, September/October 1993, illustrated on the front of the catalogue.
Est: €2,000 - €3,000
James McKenna (1933-2000)Crouching Woman (c.1983)Yew, 83 x 30 x 28cm (32¾ x 11¾ x 11)Exhibited: London, Art Space Gallery, September/October 1993, illustrated on the front of the catalogue.
Adam's
Oct. 23, 2019
***WITHDRAWN***James McKenna (1933-2000)Male FigureCarved Wood, 122cm high (48)James McKenna was born in Dublin in 1933 and spent his formative years in a farming community in Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow. In 1950 McKenna began his studies at NCAD, th
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
***WITHDRAWN***James McKenna (1933-2000)Male FigureCarved Wood, 122cm high (48)James McKenna was born in Dublin in 1933 and spent his formative years in a farming community in Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow. In 1950 McKenna began his studies at NCAD, then a particularly conservative institution, resistant to currents of change rippling through European art in the post-war period. Undoubtedly, his encounters with a reactionary old guard were one of the factors that motivated the young McKenna to co-found the Independent Artists Group in 1960. This group was conceived to create a much needed opportunity for younger, emerging artists with opportunities to present their work via group exhibitions. McKennas skill was noted early in his career and he received a Macaulay Scholarship to Italy, enabling him to spend several months in Florence for eight months, an experience that would inform his approach to sculpture considerably. Throughout the 1960s McKenna showed work in group exhibitions with peers such as Brian Bourke, Michael Kane and John Behan. The latter shared a house with McKenna in Dublin and recalls how McKenna would create monumental works in the street since no studio could accommodate the vast scale of his sculptures.McKenna can be placed in the tradition of 19th century figurative sculpture. However, it would be inaccurate to suggest that the influences of Modernism did not influence this artist. Although he eschewed abstraction and insisted upon using manual techniques without the assistance of power tools, the austerity of his work is distinctly modern. One might compare him to the Italian sculptor Marino Marini (1901- 1980) who had a similar penchant for depicting nudes and equestrian subjects in a manner that evokes archaic Etruscan and Northern European sculpture. While the titles of his works frequently refer to Irish mythological stories his sculptures possess a universal quality and McKenna interpreted classical themes in light of modern concerns and techniques. In addition to working as a visual artist McKenna was also a poet and playwright and established the Rising Ground Drama Group in 1969. The various facets of McKennas work were informed by his efforts to reform and improve the world in which he lived. As art critic Aidan Dunne wrote in McKennas obituary, He believed art should be accessible, and function as a progressive, egalitarian force in society.The impressive selection of sculptures included in this sale exemplifies McKennas facility for working in a broad range of materials. Both Crouching Woman in wood and Dúil (Desire) in marble demonstrate McKennas tendency to leave traces of his laborious processes, and make them visually evident. The kouros in plaster (entitled Heroic Man by the previous owner) dating from the early 90s is similar to a striking monumental work dating from 1989 entitled Ferdia for nÁth (Ferdia at the Ford) in the collection of IMMA. McKenna exhibited widely and his work was included in several international sculpture shows in the 1980s and 90s. A major retrospective of his work took place at IMMA in 2008 accompanied by an extensive catalogue. He is perhaps best known for several large scale public sculptures such as Resurgence at the University of Limerick; Female Figure and Tree 1979, at the Central Bank in Sandyford, Co. Dublin the Gerard Manley Hopkins monument in Monasterevin, Co. Kildare and Oisín caught in a Time Warp at the Kildare County Council offices.Pádraic E. Moore
Adam's
Oct. 31, 2017
AR James McKenna (Irish, 1933-2000) - Head of a boy 28cm (11in)(high)
Est: £1,000 - £1,500
AR James McKenna (Irish, 1933-2000) Head of a boy 28cm (11in)(high)
Bonhams
Nov. 24, 2010
James McKenna (1933-2000) Horse Bronze, 35cm
Est: €2,000 - €3,000
James McKenna (1933-2000) Horse Bronze, 35cm (13.75) high, 37cm (14.5) long Provenance: Donated by the artist to the Ethopian Famine Relief Art Auction Dublin 1989
Adam's
Dec. 08, 2009
James McKenna (1933-2003) Boy on a Horse Bronze,
Est: €1,500 - €2,500
James McKenna (1933-2003) Boy on a Horse Bronze, 28cm high, 26cm long (11 x 10.25) Provenance: Abbeville, Kinsealy See biographical note on artist at lot 74
Adam's
Dec. 08, 2009
James McKenna (1933-2000) Standing Woman Bronze,
Est: €6,000 - €10,000
James McKenna (1933-2000) Standing Woman Bronze, 168cm (66) high Signed and dated June 1966 Provenance: From the Estate of Dr. Carmel Long and Richard Dennis Esq.
Adam's
May. 08, 2009
James McKenna (1933-2000)
Est: £6,000 - £8,000
James McKenna (1933-2000) Hurlers bronze with brown patina on a slate base 21½ in. (54.6 cm.) wide
Christie's
Oct. 29, 2008
James McKenna (b.1933) Boy on a Horse Bronze, 28cm
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
James McKenna (b.1933) Boy on a Horse Bronze, 28cm high, 26cm long on a wooden pedestal
Adam's
Apr. 02, 2008
James McKenna (1933-2000) The Five Lamps Bronze,
Est: €8,000 - €10,000
James McKenna (1933-2000) The Five Lamps Bronze, 42 x 29 x 20cm (16.5 x 11.5 x 8") Conceived in 1966, cast in 1985" Exhibited: Dublin, IMMA, November.2007 - March 2008, Catalogue No. 39
Adam's
Apr. 02, 2008
James McKenna (1933-2000) Plaster Man (c. 1987)
Est: €1,500 - €2,000
James McKenna (1933-2000) Plaster Man (c. 1987) Plaster on wire mesh, 52 x 20 x 9.8cm (20.5 x 8 x 4") Exhibited: Dublin, IMMA, November.2007 - March 2008, Catalogue No. 115
Adam's
Apr. 02, 2008
James McKenna (1933-2000) Oisín i nDiaidh na
Est: €20,000 - €25,000
James McKenna (1933-2000) Oisín i nDiaidh na Feinne (1971) (Oisín Alone After the Fianna) Elm, 243 x 74 x 44cm (95.75 x 29 x 17.25") Exhibited: Dublin, IMMA, November.2007 - March 2008, Catalogue No. 78
Adam's