Breon O'Casey Sold at Auction Prices

Painter, b. 1928 - d. 2011

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  • § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)
    Feb. 12, 2025

    § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)

    Est: £1,000 - £2,000

    BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011) Bird over Blues & Grey 1999 signed, dated and numbered 7/15 in pencil etching with aquatint in colours on wove sheet 50 x 68cm framed ARR

    Chiswick Auctions
  • Breon O’Casey (1928-2011), linocut on paper, Untitled, 9.5cm x 10.3cm, mounted, glazed and framed. P
    Dec. 17, 2024

    Breon O’Casey (1928-2011), linocut on paper, Untitled, 9.5cm x 10.3cm, mounted, glazed and framed. P

    Est: £60 - £80

    Breon O’Casey (1928-2011), linocut on paper, Untitled, 9.5cm x 10.3cm, mounted, glazed and framed. Printed in 1998 by Hugh Stoneman on Somerset TP300gsm. paper in an edition of 200. Ed. 164/200

    Burstow & Hewett
  • § Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) Abstract comp
    Dec. 05, 2024

    § Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) Abstract comp

    Est: £1,000 - £1,500

    § Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) Abstract composition, gouache and collage, dedication verso, 25 x 41.5cm. Please note that Artist's Resale Right may be additionally payable on top of the hammer price for this lot, where the price is above the threshold of £1,000 GBP, up to a maximum of 4% of the hammer price. Please visit www.dacs.org.uk for more information. Very good overall condition.

    Ewbank's
  • Breon O’Casey, Squares on Square, 2003
    Nov. 21, 2024

    Breon O’Casey, Squares on Square, 2003

    Est: £200 - £300

    Breon O’Casey, British 1928-2011, Squares on Square, 2003; woodcut in colours on wove, signed, dated and numbered 3/15 in pencil, sheet: 74.6 x 63.7 cm, (unframed) (ARR)

    Roseberys
  • § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)
    Nov. 01, 2024

    § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)

    Est: £300 - £500

    BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011) SPOON white metal 8.8cm long (3 ½in long) From the Estate of an important St Ives artist.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • Breon O’Casey (1928-2011), linocut on paper, Untitled, 16cm x 16cm, mounted, glazed and framed. Printed in 1998 by Hugh Stoneman on Somerset TP300gsm.
    Oct. 24, 2024

    Breon O’Casey (1928-2011), linocut on paper, Untitled, 16cm x 16cm, mounted, glazed and framed. Printed in 1998 by Hugh Stoneman on Somerset TP300gsm.

    Est: £60 - £80

    Breon O’Casey (1928-2011), linocut on paper, Untitled, 16cm x 16cm, mounted, glazed and framed. Printed in 1998 by Hugh Stoneman on Somerset TP300gsm. paper in an edition of 200. Ed. 164/200

    Burstow & Hewett
  • O'Casey (Breon, 1928-2011). Untitled, acrylic and collage on card
    Oct. 16, 2024

    O'Casey (Breon, 1928-2011). Untitled, acrylic and collage on card

    Est: £500 - £800

    O'Casey (Breon, 1928-2011). Untitled, acrylic and collage on card * O'Casey (Breon, 1928-2011). Composition with Stars, acrylic and collage on card, 17.5 x 13 cm (7 x 5 1/4 ins), framed 34 x 29.5 cm (13 2/5 x 11 3/5 ins) QTY: (1)

    Dominic Winter Auctions
  • § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)
    Oct. 02, 2024

    § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)

    Est: £300 - £500

    BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011) THREE CHRISTMAS CARDS Painted and collaged components on paper (3) 9.5cm x 11cm (3.75in x 4.25in); 11.5cm x 17.5cm (4.5in x 7in); 12cm x 15cm (4.75in x 6in) From the Estate of an important St Ives artist.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • Breon O'Casey (1928-2011) SEATED FIGURE, 1990
    Sep. 30, 2024

    Breon O'Casey (1928-2011) SEATED FIGURE, 1990

    Est: €2,000 - €3,000

    Breon O'Casey (1928-2011) SEATED FIGURE, 1990 brass; (unique) h:9.50  w:10.75 d:3.50 in. Provenance: Narrow Water Gallery, Warrenpoint, Co, Down, c.1990; Private collection Literature: O'Sullivan, Jack, Bowness, Sophie, A Celtic Artist: Breon O'Casey, Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd., London, 2003

    Whyte's
  • Breon O'Casey (1928 - 2011) Red Stripes, (2010) Oil on board, 52.5 x 41cm (20_ x 16'') Signed, inscribed and dated verso Provenance: With Mullan Gallery, label verso
    Sep. 25, 2024

    Breon O'Casey (1928 - 2011) Red Stripes, (2010) Oil on board, 52.5 x 41cm (20_ x 16'') Signed, inscribed and dated verso Provenance: With Mullan Gallery, label verso

    Est: €3,000 - €5,000

    Breon O'Casey (1928 - 2011) Red Stripes, (2010) Oil on board, 52.5 x 41cm (20_ x 16'') Signed, inscribed and dated verso Provenance: With Mullan Gallery, label verso

    Adam's
  • Breon O’Casey,  Bird, 2002; 
    Sep. 11, 2024

    Breon O’Casey,  Bird, 2002; 

    Est: £1,500 - £2,000

    Breon O’Casey,  British 1928-2011 -  Bird, 2002;  gold on slate base, signed with initials to the underside 'BO'C 2002', H7.1 x W5.3 x D2.6 cm (ARR)

    Roseberys
  • Breon O'Casey Lithograph Dove and Olive branch 58 x 79 cm
    Aug. 23, 2024

    Breon O'Casey Lithograph Dove and Olive branch 58 x 79 cm

    Est: £30 - £50

    Breon O'Casey Lithograph Dove and Olive branch 58 x 79 cm

    Hannam's Auctioneers
  • Breon O'Casey. A pair of sterling silver cufflinks
    Jun. 25, 2024

    Breon O'Casey. A pair of sterling silver cufflinks

    Est: £100 - £200

    Breon O'Casey. A pair of sterling silver cufflinks, of floral design, Birmingham hallmarks, 1972, maker's mark; together with two rings, both unsigned, ring sizes J (3)

    Roseberys
  • Breon O'Casey. A pair of earrings and one single earring
    Jun. 25, 2024

    Breon O'Casey. A pair of earrings and one single earring

    Est: £150 - £250

    Breon O'Casey. A pair of earrings and one single earring, attributed to Breon O'Casey, the pair of triangular panel form, length 7cm; the single earring with gilt metal teardrop plaque and coral (corallium rubrum) beads, length 6cm Provenance: the Descendants of Sidney and Stella Churchill (1862-1921 and 1883-1954) and Ruth Plant (1912-1988)

    Roseberys
  • Breon O'Casey. Two pairs of earrings
    Jun. 25, 2024

    Breon O'Casey. Two pairs of earrings

    Est: £300 - £500

    Breon O'Casey. Two pairs of earrings, attributed to Breon O'Casey, the first of triangular panel form suspending coral (corallium rubrum) bead fringe, length 6cm, the second with domed silver and glass beads, length 5.9cm (2 pairs) Provenance: the Descendants of Sidney and Stella Churchill (1862-1921 and 1883-1954) and Ruth Plant (1912-1988)

    Roseberys
  • Breon O'Casey BOAT Linocut
    May. 18, 2024

    Breon O'Casey BOAT Linocut

    Est: $800 - $1,200

    Artist/Designer; Manufacturer: Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) Marking(s); notes: signed; AP for the edition of 15; 1999 Materials: linocut Dimensions (H, W, D): 16.5"h, 15.5"w; 23"h, 21.75"w frame Additional Information: Breon O'Casey was a prominent member of the St. Ives school and a highly versatile artist; in addition to printmaking he was a jeweler, weaver, painter and sculptor. (source: theguardian.com, artist's obituary)   This lot is available for truck shipment to points along the I-95 corridor at a flat rate of $250 (including Shipper's full coverage for damage or loss). Flat rate includes first-floor delivery within 50 miles of Interstate 95 (I-95) extending from PBMA in Lake Worth Beach to Massachusetts, including but not limited to Washington (D.C.), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), New York City (New York), New Haven (Connecticut), Providence (Rhode Island), and Boston (Massachusetts). This flat rate will also be applicable to certain additional areas on shipper's normal routes, including Atlanta (Georgia), the Hamptons (New York), and the Piedmont Triad of Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem (North Carolina). If your location is within the general area mentioned and you would like to confirm the flat rate applies or receive a revised quote for your specific needs, please contact Shipper directly: East Coast Express - Nicolas Prechaniuk: 973.803.6059. Shipper is a third-party vendor; payment for their services and any delivery instructions should be directed to them.  PBMA has worked with Shipper for years and has full confidence in them, but Shipper will be solely responsible and insure against any damage or loss.  We will work with Buyer and Shipper to combine shipping for qualifying lots where possible; please inquire to confirm availability of combination shipment and quote. International shipments will be referred to a third-party carrier; please email us if you need assistance. Winning bidders are welcome to use their own shipper if preferred.

    Palm Beach Modern Auctions
  • Breon O'Casey I SAW FROM THE BEACH Linocut
    May. 18, 2024

    Breon O'Casey I SAW FROM THE BEACH Linocut

    Est: $800 - $1,200

    Artist/Designer; Manufacturer: Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) Marking(s); notes: signed; ed. 10/15; 1999 Materials: linocut Dimensions (H, W, D): 20.5"h, 14.5"w; 28"h, 21.5"w frame Additional Information: Breon O'Casey was a prominent member of the St. Ives school and a highly versatile artist; in addition to printmaking he was a jeweler, weaver, painter and sculptor. (source: theguardian.com, artist's obituary)   This lot is available for truck shipment to points along the I-95 corridor at a flat rate of $250 (including Shipper's full coverage for damage or loss). Flat rate includes first-floor delivery within 50 miles of Interstate 95 (I-95) extending from PBMA in Lake Worth Beach to Massachusetts, including but not limited to Washington (D.C.), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), New York City (New York), New Haven (Connecticut), Providence (Rhode Island), and Boston (Massachusetts). This flat rate will also be applicable to certain additional areas on shipper's normal routes, including Atlanta (Georgia), the Hamptons (New York), and the Piedmont Triad of Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem (North Carolina). If your location is within the general area mentioned and you would like to confirm the flat rate applies or receive a revised quote for your specific needs, please contact Shipper directly: East Coast Express - Nicolas Prechaniuk: 973.803.6059. Shipper is a third-party vendor; payment for their services and any delivery instructions should be directed to them.  PBMA has worked with Shipper for years and has full confidence in them, but Shipper will be solely responsible and insure against any damage or loss.  We will work with Buyer and Shipper to combine shipping for qualifying lots where possible; please inquire to confirm availability of combination shipment and quote. International shipments will be referred to a third-party carrier; please email us if you need assistance. Winning bidders are welcome to use their own shipper if preferred.  

    Palm Beach Modern Auctions
  • § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)
    Apr. 26, 2024

    § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)

    Est: £1,500 - £2,000

    BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011) COCKEREL stamped BOC, white metal 9.4cm high, 11cm wide (3 ¾in high, 4 3/8in wide)

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)
    Apr. 26, 2024

    § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)

    Est: £1,000 - £1,500

    BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011) BLUE FIGURE, 2009 signed and dated in pencil (lower right), numbered 15/15 (lower left), screenprint on wove paper image: 39.5cm x 43.5cm (15 ½in x 17 1/8in); sheet: 58cm x 60.5cm (22 ¾in x 23 ¾in) Private Collection, U.K.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)
    Apr. 26, 2024

    § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)

    Est: £1,000 - £1,500

    BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011) RIVER, 2001 signed and dated MMI in pencil (lower right), inscribed BAT (lower left), screenprint on wove paper image: 40.5cm x 56cm (15 7/8in x 22in); sheet: 58cm x 76cm (22 7/8in x 29 7/8in) Private Collection, U.K.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)
    Apr. 26, 2024

    § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)

    Est: £800 - £1,200

    BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011) FIGURE 1, 2008 signed and dated in pencil (lower right), numbered 5/15 (lower left), screenprint on wove paper image: 59cm x 29cm (29 ¾in x 11 3/8in); sheet: 76cm x 45.2cm (29 7/8in x 17 ¾in) Private Collection, U.K.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)
    Apr. 26, 2024

    § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)

    Est: £4,000 - £6,000

    BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011) 'COLOURED HILLS' RUG wool 133.5cm x 111cm (52 ½in x 43 5/8in) Private Collection, UK. Literature:Fallon, Brian and Breon O'Casey, Breon O'Casey, Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.140, illustrated. "To see a rug grow so slowly, from thread after thread, was one of the greatest delights of my life! I loved weaving. If my legs allowed me, I would be working away still. It is the most delightful of occupations…Each rug is guaranteed to make you despair at least once, to curse the lack of exact colour you want, to make do with what you have to, turn water into wine. It has helped me with my painting. Painting is so quick. To decide to put a red line across a painting, and it’s done, and then what. To put a red line across a rug takes the best part of a morning and during that time the next step is clear."

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • Breon O'Casey,  British 1928-2011, - Untitled, 1998;
    Apr. 23, 2024

    Breon O'Casey,  British 1928-2011, - Untitled, 1998;

    Est: £200 - £300

    Breon O'Casey,  British 1928-2011, Untitled, 1998; two linocuts on Somerset TP300gsm wove,  from an edition of 200,  edition number 164/200,  printed by Hugh Stoneman in 1998,  each plate: 9.5 x 10 cm,  (framed) (ARR)",

    Roseberys
  • Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) Song
    Mar. 27, 2024

    Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) Song

    Est: £1,000 - £1,500

    Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) Song oil, pencil and wood relief on panel, laid on board 22.5 x 39cm (8 7/8 x 15 3/8in).

    Bonhams
  • Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) Bird
    Mar. 27, 2024

    Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) Bird

    Est: £600 - £800

    Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) Bird signed and dated 'Breon O'Casey 06' (lower right) linocut, acrylic and collage on paper 19 x 28.5cm (7 1/2 x 11 1/4in).

    Bonhams
  • BREON O'CASEY (British, 1928Ð2011) METALLIC BROOCH
    Mar. 24, 2024

    BREON O'CASEY (British, 1928Ð2011) METALLIC BROOCH

    Est: $800 - $1,200

    Contemporary studio jewelry brooch, designed as a rectangular, hand-wrought silver pin with four gold crescents, artist signed and dated 1990 on reverse; 1.17 ozt h. 2-1/4 w. 3-1/4 in. A similar brooch by the artist can be found in the archives of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Object # 2002.3718

    Butterscotch Auction Gallery LLC
  • Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) White Spots
    Nov. 29, 2023

    Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) White Spots

    Est: £1,500 - £2,000

    Breon O'Casey (British, 1928-2011) White Spots signed and dated 'Breon O'Casey MMIV' (lower right); further signed, titled and dated 'Breon O'Casey./MMV/White Spots' (on backboard) acrylic on paper 26 x 40cm (10 1/4 x 15 3/4in).

    Bonhams
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Four Christmas Cards
    Oct. 27, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Four Christmas Cards

    Est: £1,000 - £1,500

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Four Christmas Cards each inscribed by the Artist (to interior), gouache and collage on paper (the largest 11.5cm x 16.5cm (4 1/2in x 6 1/2in), all mounted together) Provenance: The Estate of an important St. Ives artist. Breon O’Casey was part of one of the later waves of young avant-garde artists drawn to the bustling fishing settlement of St Ives, arriving in his clapped-out orange Ford transit in 1959. A studio assistant of Denis Mitchell and of the inimitable Barbara Hepworth, O’Casey became a member of the Penwith Society of Arts and an active participant in the artistic life of the town. Highly productive and constantly experimental, O’Casey moved across different media with ease, with his visual language translating across such diverse artforms as painting, jewellery, printmaking, weaving and sculpture. This broad skillset made him relatively hard to pin down from a critical point of view and possibly explains why the spotlight took its time to home in on this fascinating and respected figure within the St Ives School. Since O’Casey’s death in 2011 however, curators and collectors have driven a wave of renewed appreciation of the work of this fascinating polymath. Unconstrained to one medium, simple shapes of undulating and geometric form recur across much of his work. So too does a distinctive palette of earthy brown tones disrupted by jewel-like reds, greens and blues. His reference points are diverse: from his family roots in the Celtic revival (his father was Irish dramatist Sean O’Casey) and his interest in ancient and non-Western culture (for example the Navajo-inspired geometric patterns which appear in his weaving), to the distilled modernist forms of the Bauhaus and the work of St Ives forebears like Ben Nicholson. One key recurring motif is the number three, which took on an almost magical quality for O’Casey. We can note this in the iconography of some of the pieces offered here. In the 1966 assemblage, Construction, we find three simple bands of colour reading as an abstracted, minimalistic take on a natural landscape, to the more monumental Duo, which places three band-like shapes to delineate space in the pictorial plane. Sculpture became an increasing preoccupation, with O’Casey commenting that it “…took the place of weaving and jewellery as the antidote to painting. At first as a sideline, a relief from the anxieties of paint. But gradually it has taken on a more important role and I can say now that it is at least as important to me as painting and I devote an equal amount of time and thought to it.” O’Casey also remarked that, unlike his wholly abstract work in two dimensions, he was almost always drawn to figuration in his sculptural work, very often depicting birds or animals. In the excellent examples offered here we find his deceptively simple balancing act between modern and ancient lexicons, as well as the sense of an artist revelling in the joy of his craft.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Duo, 2009
    Oct. 27, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Duo, 2009

    Est: £7,000 - £9,000

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Duo, 2009 signed, titled and dated (to backboard), acrylic on board relief (39.3cm x 68.5cm (15 1/2in x 27in)) Breon O’Casey was part of one of the later waves of young avant-garde artists drawn to the bustling fishing settlement of St Ives, arriving in his clapped-out orange Ford transit in 1959. A studio assistant of Denis Mitchell and of the inimitable Barbara Hepworth, O’Casey became a member of the Penwith Society of Arts and an active participant in the artistic life of the town. Highly productive and constantly experimental, O’Casey moved across different media with ease, with his visual language translating across such diverse artforms as painting, jewellery, printmaking, weaving and sculpture. This broad skillset made him relatively hard to pin down from a critical point of view and possibly explains why the spotlight took its time to home in on this fascinating and respected figure within the St Ives School. Since O’Casey’s death in 2011 however, curators and collectors have driven a wave of renewed appreciation of the work of this fascinating polymath. Unconstrained to one medium, simple shapes of undulating and geometric form recur across much of his work. So too does a distinctive palette of earthy brown tones disrupted by jewel-like reds, greens and blues. His reference points are diverse: from his family roots in the Celtic revival (his father was Irish dramatist Sean O’Casey) and his interest in ancient and non-Western culture (for example the Navajo-inspired geometric patterns which appear in his weaving), to the distilled modernist forms of the Bauhaus and the work of St Ives forebears like Ben Nicholson. One key recurring motif is the number three, which took on an almost magical quality for O’Casey. We can note this in the iconography of some of the pieces offered here. In the 1966 assemblage, Construction, we find three simple bands of colour reading as an abstracted, minimalistic take on a natural landscape, to the more monumental Duo, which places three band-like shapes to delineate space in the pictorial plane. Sculpture became an increasing preoccupation, with O’Casey commenting that it “…took the place of weaving and jewellery as the antidote to painting. At first as a sideline, a relief from the anxieties of paint. But gradually it has taken on a more important role and I can say now that it is at least as important to me as painting and I devote an equal amount of time and thought to it.” O’Casey also remarked that, unlike his wholly abstract work in two dimensions, he was almost always drawn to figuration in his sculptural work, very often depicting birds or animals. In the excellent examples offered here we find his deceptively simple balancing act between modern and ancient lexicons, as well as the sense of an artist revelling in the joy of his craft.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Small Figure
    Oct. 27, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Small Figure

    Est: £1,000 - £2,000

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Small Figure signed (to base), verdigris bronze on marble (bronze 10cm high (4in high), 12.7cm high (5in high) including base) Breon O’Casey was part of one of the later waves of young avant-garde artists drawn to the bustling fishing settlement of St Ives, arriving in his clapped-out orange Ford transit in 1959. A studio assistant of Denis Mitchell and of the inimitable Barbara Hepworth, O’Casey became a member of the Penwith Society of Arts and an active participant in the artistic life of the town. Highly productive and constantly experimental, O’Casey moved across different media with ease, with his visual language translating across such diverse artforms as painting, jewellery, printmaking, weaving and sculpture. This broad skillset made him relatively hard to pin down from a critical point of view and possibly explains why the spotlight took its time to home in on this fascinating and respected figure within the St Ives School. Since O’Casey’s death in 2011 however, curators and collectors have driven a wave of renewed appreciation of the work of this fascinating polymath. Unconstrained to one medium, simple shapes of undulating and geometric form recur across much of his work. So too does a distinctive palette of earthy brown tones disrupted by jewel-like reds, greens and blues. His reference points are diverse: from his family roots in the Celtic revival (his father was Irish dramatist Sean O’Casey) and his interest in ancient and non-Western culture (for example the Navajo-inspired geometric patterns which appear in his weaving), to the distilled modernist forms of the Bauhaus and the work of St Ives forebears like Ben Nicholson. One key recurring motif is the number three, which took on an almost magical quality for O’Casey. We can note this in the iconography of some of the pieces offered here. In the 1966 assemblage, Construction, we find three simple bands of colour reading as an abstracted, minimalistic take on a natural landscape, to the more monumental Duo, which places three band-like shapes to delineate space in the pictorial plane. Sculpture became an increasing preoccupation, with O’Casey commenting that it “…took the place of weaving and jewellery as the antidote to painting. At first as a sideline, a relief from the anxieties of paint. But gradually it has taken on a more important role and I can say now that it is at least as important to me as painting and I devote an equal amount of time and thought to it.” O’Casey also remarked that, unlike his wholly abstract work in two dimensions, he was almost always drawn to figuration in his sculptural work, very often depicting birds or animals. In the excellent examples offered here we find his deceptively simple balancing act between modern and ancient lexicons, as well as the sense of an artist revelling in the joy of his craft.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Head
    Oct. 27, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Head

    Est: £2,000 - £3,000

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Head stamped BOC, white metal on wooden stand (15.5cm high (6 1/8in high) excluding base; 20.5cm high (8in high) including base) Breon O’Casey was part of one of the later waves of young avant-garde artists drawn to the bustling fishing settlement of St Ives, arriving in his clapped-out orange Ford transit in 1959. A studio assistant of Denis Mitchell and of the inimitable Barbara Hepworth, O’Casey became a member of the Penwith Society of Arts and an active participant in the artistic life of the town. Highly productive and constantly experimental, O’Casey moved across different media with ease, with his visual language translating across such diverse artforms as painting, jewellery, printmaking, weaving and sculpture. This broad skillset made him relatively hard to pin down from a critical point of view and possibly explains why the spotlight took its time to home in on this fascinating and respected figure within the St Ives School. Since O’Casey’s death in 2011 however, curators and collectors have driven a wave of renewed appreciation of the work of this fascinating polymath. Unconstrained to one medium, simple shapes of undulating and geometric form recur across much of his work. So too does a distinctive palette of earthy brown tones disrupted by jewel-like reds, greens and blues. His reference points are diverse: from his family roots in the Celtic revival (his father was Irish dramatist Sean O’Casey) and his interest in ancient and non-Western culture (for example the Navajo-inspired geometric patterns which appear in his weaving), to the distilled modernist forms of the Bauhaus and the work of St Ives forebears like Ben Nicholson. One key recurring motif is the number three, which took on an almost magical quality for O’Casey. We can note this in the iconography of some of the pieces offered here. In the 1966 assemblage, Construction, we find three simple bands of colour reading as an abstracted, minimalistic take on a natural landscape, to the more monumental Duo, which places three band-like shapes to delineate space in the pictorial plane. Sculpture became an increasing preoccupation, with O’Casey commenting that it “…took the place of weaving and jewellery as the antidote to painting. At first as a sideline, a relief from the anxieties of paint. But gradually it has taken on a more important role and I can say now that it is at least as important to me as painting and I devote an equal amount of time and thought to it.” O’Casey also remarked that, unlike his wholly abstract work in two dimensions, he was almost always drawn to figuration in his sculptural work, very often depicting birds or animals. In the excellent examples offered here we find his deceptively simple balancing act between modern and ancient lexicons, as well as the sense of an artist revelling in the joy of his craft.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Crouching Figure
    Oct. 27, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Crouching Figure

    Est: £1,500 - £2,500

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Crouching Figure stamped BOC, from the Sunbathers series, brass (16.5cm high, 10.5cm wide (6 1/2in high, 4 1/8in wide)) Provenance Private Collection, UK. Literature Polan, Brenda, 'A Passion for the Primitive', The Sunday Times Magazine, 18 November 1990, pp.124-25, illustrated. Breon O’Casey was part of one of the later waves of young avant-garde artists drawn to the bustling fishing settlement of St Ives, arriving in his clapped-out orange Ford transit in 1959. A studio assistant of Denis Mitchell and of the inimitable Barbara Hepworth, O’Casey became a member of the Penwith Society of Arts and an active participant in the artistic life of the town. Highly productive and constantly experimental, O’Casey moved across different media with ease, with his visual language translating across such diverse artforms as painting, jewellery, printmaking, weaving and sculpture. This broad skillset made him relatively hard to pin down from a critical point of view and possibly explains why the spotlight took its time to home in on this fascinating and respected figure within the St Ives School. Since O’Casey’s death in 2011 however, curators and collectors have driven a wave of renewed appreciation of the work of this fascinating polymath. Unconstrained to one medium, simple shapes of undulating and geometric form recur across much of his work. So too does a distinctive palette of earthy brown tones disrupted by jewel-like reds, greens and blues. His reference points are diverse: from his family roots in the Celtic revival (his father was Irish dramatist Sean O’Casey) and his interest in ancient and non-Western culture (for example the Navajo-inspired geometric patterns which appear in his weaving), to the distilled modernist forms of the Bauhaus and the work of St Ives forebears like Ben Nicholson. One key recurring motif is the number three, which took on an almost magical quality for O’Casey. We can note this in the iconography of some of the pieces offered here. In the 1966 assemblage, Construction, we find three simple bands of colour reading as an abstracted, minimalistic take on a natural landscape, to the more monumental Duo, which places three band-like shapes to delineate space in the pictorial plane. Sculpture became an increasing preoccupation, with O’Casey commenting that it “…took the place of weaving and jewellery as the antidote to painting. At first as a sideline, a relief from the anxieties of paint. But gradually it has taken on a more important role and I can say now that it is at least as important to me as painting and I devote an equal amount of time and thought to it.” O’Casey also remarked that, unlike his wholly abstract work in two dimensions, he was almost always drawn to figuration in his sculptural work, very often depicting birds or animals. In the excellent examples offered here we find his deceptively simple balancing act between modern and ancient lexicons, as well as the sense of an artist revelling in the joy of his craft.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Construction, 1966
    Oct. 27, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Construction, 1966

    Est: £3,000 - £5,000

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Construction, 1966 signed, dated and inscribed to Pat & Roger with love (to postcard to reverse), oil on board assemblage (35.7cm x 29cm (14in x 11 1/2in) including frame) Provenance Gifted by the Artist to Roger and Pat Leigh, thence by descent; Askew Art, London; Private Collection, UK. Roger Leigh (1925-97), who previously owned this work, was one of Barbara Hepworth's assistants. Breon O’Casey was part of one of the later waves of young avant-garde artists drawn to the bustling fishing settlement of St Ives, arriving in his clapped-out orange Ford transit in 1959. A studio assistant of Denis Mitchell and of the inimitable Barbara Hepworth, O’Casey became a member of the Penwith Society of Arts and an active participant in the artistic life of the town. Highly productive and constantly experimental, O’Casey moved across different media with ease, with his visual language translating across such diverse artforms as painting, jewellery, printmaking, weaving and sculpture. This broad skillset made him relatively hard to pin down from a critical point of view and possibly explains why the spotlight took its time to home in on this fascinating and respected figure within the St Ives School. Since O’Casey’s death in 2011 however, curators and collectors have driven a wave of renewed appreciation of the work of this fascinating polymath. Unconstrained to one medium, simple shapes of undulating and geometric form recur across much of his work. So too does a distinctive palette of earthy brown tones disrupted by jewel-like reds, greens and blues. His reference points are diverse: from his family roots in the Celtic revival (his father was Irish dramatist Sean O’Casey) and his interest in ancient and non-Western culture (for example the Navajo-inspired geometric patterns which appear in his weaving), to the distilled modernist forms of the Bauhaus and the work of St Ives forebears like Ben Nicholson. One key recurring motif is the number three, which took on an almost magical quality for O’Casey. We can note this in the iconography of some of the pieces offered here. In the 1966 assemblage, Construction, we find three simple bands of colour reading as an abstracted, minimalistic take on a natural landscape, to the more monumental Duo, which places three band-like shapes to delineate space in the pictorial plane. Sculpture became an increasing preoccupation, with O’Casey commenting that it “…took the place of weaving and jewellery as the antidote to painting. At first as a sideline, a relief from the anxieties of paint. But gradually it has taken on a more important role and I can say now that it is at least as important to me as painting and I devote an equal amount of time and thought to it.” O’Casey also remarked that, unlike his wholly abstract work in two dimensions, he was almost always drawn to figuration in his sculptural work, very often depicting birds or animals. In the excellent examples offered here we find his deceptively simple balancing act between modern and ancient lexicons, as well as the sense of an artist revelling in the joy of his craft.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Bird
    Oct. 27, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Bird

    Est: £5,000 - £7,000

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Bird stamped BOC, white metal, in Perspex box on wooden stand (29.5cm high, 39.5cm wide, 7cm deep (11 5/8in high, 15 1/2in wide, 2 3/4in deep)) Provenance: Lynne Strover Gallery, Cambridge; Private Collection, UK. Breon O’Casey was part of one of the later waves of young avant-garde artists drawn to the bustling fishing settlement of St Ives, arriving in his clapped-out orange Ford transit in 1959. A studio assistant of Denis Mitchell and of the inimitable Barbara Hepworth, O’Casey became a member of the Penwith Society of Arts and an active participant in the artistic life of the town. Highly productive and constantly experimental, O’Casey moved across different media with ease, with his visual language translating across such diverse artforms as painting, jewellery, printmaking, weaving and sculpture. This broad skillset made him relatively hard to pin down from a critical point of view and possibly explains why the spotlight took its time to home in on this fascinating and respected figure within the St Ives School. Since O’Casey’s death in 2011 however, curators and collectors have driven a wave of renewed appreciation of the work of this fascinating polymath. Unconstrained to one medium, simple shapes of undulating and geometric form recur across much of his work. So too does a distinctive palette of earthy brown tones disrupted by jewel-like reds, greens and blues. His reference points are diverse: from his family roots in the Celtic revival (his father was Irish dramatist Sean O’Casey) and his interest in ancient and non-Western culture (for example the Navajo-inspired geometric patterns which appear in his weaving), to the distilled modernist forms of the Bauhaus and the work of St Ives forebears like Ben Nicholson. One key recurring motif is the number three, which took on an almost magical quality for O’Casey. We can note this in the iconography of some of the pieces offered here. In the 1966 assemblage, Construction, we find three simple bands of colour reading as an abstracted, minimalistic take on a natural landscape, to the more monumental Duo, which places three band-like shapes to delineate space in the pictorial plane. Sculpture became an increasing preoccupation, with O’Casey commenting that it “…took the place of weaving and jewellery as the antidote to painting. At first as a sideline, a relief from the anxieties of paint. But gradually it has taken on a more important role and I can say now that it is at least as important to me as painting and I devote an equal amount of time and thought to it.” O’Casey also remarked that, unlike his wholly abstract work in two dimensions, he was almost always drawn to figuration in his sculptural work, very often depicting birds or animals. In the excellent examples offered here we find his deceptively simple balancing act between modern and ancient lexicons, as well as the sense of an artist revelling in the joy of his craft.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Landscape on Brown, 1997
    Oct. 27, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Landscape on Brown, 1997

    Est: £1,500 - £2,000

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Landscape on Brown, 1997 signed and dated in pencil (lower right), signed, titled and dated (to backboard), mixed media on paper (28.5cm x 40.5cm (11 1/4in x 16in)) Provenance Yew Tree Gallery, Cornwall. Breon O’Casey was part of one of the later waves of young avant-garde artists drawn to the bustling fishing settlement of St Ives, arriving in his clapped-out orange Ford transit in 1959. A studio assistant of Denis Mitchell and of the inimitable Barbara Hepworth, O’Casey became a member of the Penwith Society of Arts and an active participant in the artistic life of the town. Highly productive and constantly experimental, O’Casey moved across different media with ease, with his visual language translating across such diverse artforms as painting, jewellery, printmaking, weaving and sculpture. This broad skillset made him relatively hard to pin down from a critical point of view and possibly explains why the spotlight took its time to home in on this fascinating and respected figure within the St Ives School. Since O’Casey’s death in 2011 however, curators and collectors have driven a wave of renewed appreciation of the work of this fascinating polymath. Unconstrained to one medium, simple shapes of undulating and geometric form recur across much of his work. So too does a distinctive palette of earthy brown tones disrupted by jewel-like reds, greens and blues. His reference points are diverse: from his family roots in the Celtic revival (his father was Irish dramatist Sean O’Casey) and his interest in ancient and non-Western culture (for example the Navajo-inspired geometric patterns which appear in his weaving), to the distilled modernist forms of the Bauhaus and the work of St Ives forebears like Ben Nicholson. One key recurring motif is the number three, which took on an almost magical quality for O’Casey. We can note this in the iconography of some of the pieces offered here. In the 1966 assemblage, Construction, we find three simple bands of colour reading as an abstracted, minimalistic take on a natural landscape, to the more monumental Duo, which places three band-like shapes to delineate space in the pictorial plane. Sculpture became an increasing preoccupation, with O’Casey commenting that it “…took the place of weaving and jewellery as the antidote to painting. At first as a sideline, a relief from the anxieties of paint. But gradually it has taken on a more important role and I can say now that it is at least as important to me as painting and I devote an equal amount of time and thought to it.” O’Casey also remarked that, unlike his wholly abstract work in two dimensions, he was almost always drawn to figuration in his sculptural work, very often depicting birds or animals. In the excellent examples offered here we find his deceptively simple balancing act between modern and ancient lexicons, as well as the sense of an artist revelling in the joy of his craft.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Divided Circles, 2003
    Oct. 27, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Divided Circles, 2003

    Est: £800 - £1,200

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Divided Circles, 2003 signed and dated (lower right), inscribed PP I (lower left), lithograph on paper (sheet 83.7cm x 55.8cm (33in x 22 in); plate 62.8cm x 40cm (24 3/4 in x 15 3/4 in)) Provenance Stoneman Graphics Ltd, where acquired by the current owner, December 2008. Breon O’Casey was part of one of the later waves of young avant-garde artists drawn to the bustling fishing settlement of St Ives, arriving in his clapped-out orange Ford transit in 1959. A studio assistant of Denis Mitchell and of the inimitable Barbara Hepworth, O’Casey became a member of the Penwith Society of Arts and an active participant in the artistic life of the town. Highly productive and constantly experimental, O’Casey moved across different media with ease, with his visual language translating across such diverse artforms as painting, jewellery, printmaking, weaving and sculpture. This broad skillset made him relatively hard to pin down from a critical point of view and possibly explains why the spotlight took its time to home in on this fascinating and respected figure within the St Ives School. Since O’Casey’s death in 2011 however, curators and collectors have driven a wave of renewed appreciation of the work of this fascinating polymath. Unconstrained to one medium, simple shapes of undulating and geometric form recur across much of his work. So too does a distinctive palette of earthy brown tones disrupted by jewel-like reds, greens and blues. His reference points are diverse: from his family roots in the Celtic revival (his father was Irish dramatist Sean O’Casey) and his interest in ancient and non-Western culture (for example the Navajo-inspired geometric patterns which appear in his weaving), to the distilled modernist forms of the Bauhaus and the work of St Ives forebears like Ben Nicholson. One key recurring motif is the number three, which took on an almost magical quality for O’Casey. We can note this in the iconography of some of the pieces offered here. In the 1966 assemblage, Construction, we find three simple bands of colour reading as an abstracted, minimalistic take on a natural landscape, to the more monumental Duo, which places three band-like shapes to delineate space in the pictorial plane. Sculpture became an increasing preoccupation, with O’Casey commenting that it “…took the place of weaving and jewellery as the antidote to painting. At first as a sideline, a relief from the anxieties of paint. But gradually it has taken on a more important role and I can say now that it is at least as important to me as painting and I devote an equal amount of time and thought to it.” O’Casey also remarked that, unlike his wholly abstract work in two dimensions, he was almost always drawn to figuration in his sculptural work, very often depicting birds or animals. In the excellent examples offered here we find his deceptively simple balancing act between modern and ancient lexicons, as well as the sense of an artist revelling in the joy of his craft.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)
    Oct. 03, 2023

    § BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011)

    Est: £100 - £200

    BREON O'CASEY (BRITISH 1928-2011) Untitled Linocut 1998 linocut on wove from the unnumbered edition of 200 printed by Hugh Stoneman sheet 16 x 16cm unframed ARR

    Chiswick Auctions
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Three Christmas Cards
    Apr. 28, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Three Christmas Cards

    Est: £600 - £800

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Three Christmas Cards each inscribed from the artist (inside the card), mixed media, mixed media with collage and linocut (11.5cm x 17.5cm (4 1/2in x 7in); 10cm x 17cm (4in x 6 3/4in); 19.5cm x 20cm (7 3/4in x 8in);) Qty: (3) Provenance The Estate of an important St. Ives artist. ‘Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent. Breon O’Casey’s sensitive observations of life, art and nature inform his rich personal, visual language and beautifully balanced prose. His respect for his immediate environment and for tradition have enabled him to move forward with a confident, quiet ease, creating a refreshingly honest approach to art. He is an artist who is prepared to wait for the right shape, for the right brushstroke or the perfectly chosen word to express his meaning’. (Peter Murray (1)) Breon O’Casey was a true polymath and was possibly unique in the combination of skills he possessed over so many mediums in a single career. He was a painter, printmaker, weaver, sculptor and jewellery maker and it is hard to think of any other contemporary artist and maker who was so broadly talented. Son of the playwright Sean O’Casey (1880-1964), Breon spent most of his career in Cornwall, where he was closely associated with many of the painters, potters and sculptors of the St Ives movement. He arrived in the coastal town in the 1959 and served artistic apprenticeships under sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell, and was friends with leading artists such as Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O’Malley. In 1999 O’Casey recalled: ‘One day, watching television, some time in the late fifties, I saw a film about Alfred Wallis…the film incidentally showed St Ives and the studios of the artists living there. I realised it was the place for me. I owned a small orange Ford van. I packed the van and went. St Ives! In those days it was still a working fishing port, with tourism and artists tolerated, but kindly tolerated. Coming from Torquay, where I had felt like a rhinoceros walking along the streets, the relief of mingling with other crazy artists was enormous…I felt secure and there was a sort of electricity in the air.’ (2) O’Casey’s abstract style was poetic and focussed on discovering the simplicity of objects and forms. For him there was ‘nothing new under the sun, but an infinity of arrangements’ and when asked about objects that captivated him it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’. He would return to geometric motifs and natural forms again and again throughout his career and considered himself a ‘traditional innovator’, fascinated by ancient, primitive and non-western art, but imbuing it with his own poetic sensibilities and discoveries through all the creative channels he explored. Although often overshadowed by his St Ives contemporaries, O’Casey’s legacy, talents and unique skills are now being reassessed, and greater importance given to his accomplishments beyond narrow and interlocked art circles. We are delighted to bring this collection of his work together to showcase many of the aspects of O’Casey’s prodigious artistic output, and to celebrate his significance as a true renaissance figure of British 20th-century art and craft. 1 / Peter Murray quoted in Sarah Coulson and Sophie Bowness, Breon O’Casey: An Anthology of his Writings, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, 2005, p.3 2 / Breon O’Casey quoted in Brian Fallon and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey¸ Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.48.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Christmas Card (Bird Design)
    Apr. 28, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Christmas Card (Bird Design)

    Est: £400 - £600

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Christmas Card (Bird Design) Inscribed (inside card), linocut (23cm x 15.5cm (9in x 6in)) Provenance The Estate of an important St. Ives artist. ‘Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent. Breon O’Casey’s sensitive observations of life, art and nature inform his rich personal, visual language and beautifully balanced prose. His respect for his immediate environment and for tradition have enabled him to move forward with a confident, quiet ease, creating a refreshingly honest approach to art. He is an artist who is prepared to wait for the right shape, for the right brushstroke or the perfectly chosen word to express his meaning’. (Peter Murray (1)) Breon O’Casey was a true polymath and was possibly unique in the combination of skills he possessed over so many mediums in a single career. He was a painter, printmaker, weaver, sculptor and jewellery maker and it is hard to think of any other contemporary artist and maker who was so broadly talented. Son of the playwright Sean O’Casey (1880-1964), Breon spent most of his career in Cornwall, where he was closely associated with many of the painters, potters and sculptors of the St Ives movement. He arrived in the coastal town in the 1959 and served artistic apprenticeships under sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell, and was friends with leading artists such as Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O’Malley. In 1999 O’Casey recalled: ‘One day, watching television, some time in the late fifties, I saw a film about Alfred Wallis…the film incidentally showed St Ives and the studios of the artists living there. I realised it was the place for me. I owned a small orange Ford van. I packed the van and went. St Ives! In those days it was still a working fishing port, with tourism and artists tolerated, but kindly tolerated. Coming from Torquay, where I had felt like a rhinoceros walking along the streets, the relief of mingling with other crazy artists was enormous…I felt secure and there was a sort of electricity in the air.’ (2) O’Casey’s abstract style was poetic and focussed on discovering the simplicity of objects and forms. For him there was ‘nothing new under the sun, but an infinity of arrangements’ and when asked about objects that captivated him it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’. He would return to geometric motifs and natural forms again and again throughout his career and considered himself a ‘traditional innovator’, fascinated by ancient, primitive and non-western art, but imbuing it with his own poetic sensibilities and discoveries through all the creative channels he explored. Although often overshadowed by his St Ives contemporaries, O’Casey’s legacy, talents and unique skills are now being reassessed, and greater importance given to his accomplishments beyond narrow and interlocked art circles. We are delighted to bring this collection of his work together to showcase many of the aspects of O’Casey’s prodigious artistic output, and to celebrate his significance as a true renaissance figure of British 20th-century art and craft. 1 / Peter Murray quoted in Sarah Coulson and Sophie Bowness, Breon O’Casey: An Anthology of his Writings, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, 2005, p.3 2 / Breon O’Casey quoted in Brian Fallon and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey¸ Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.48.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Two Tie Designs
    Apr. 28, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Two Tie Designs

    Est: £500 - £800

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Two Tie Designs Mixed media and collage (28.5cm x 19cm (11 1/4in x 7 1/2in)) Provenance The Estate of an important St. Ives artist. ‘Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent. Breon O’Casey’s sensitive observations of life, art and nature inform his rich personal, visual language and beautifully balanced prose. His respect for his immediate environment and for tradition have enabled him to move forward with a confident, quiet ease, creating a refreshingly honest approach to art. He is an artist who is prepared to wait for the right shape, for the right brushstroke or the perfectly chosen word to express his meaning’. (Peter Murray (1)) Breon O’Casey was a true polymath and was possibly unique in the combination of skills he possessed over so many mediums in a single career. He was a painter, printmaker, weaver, sculptor and jewellery maker and it is hard to think of any other contemporary artist and maker who was so broadly talented. Son of the playwright Sean O’Casey (1880-1964), Breon spent most of his career in Cornwall, where he was closely associated with many of the painters, potters and sculptors of the St Ives movement. He arrived in the coastal town in the 1959 and served artistic apprenticeships under sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell, and was friends with leading artists such as Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O’Malley. In 1999 O’Casey recalled: ‘One day, watching television, some time in the late fifties, I saw a film about Alfred Wallis…the film incidentally showed St Ives and the studios of the artists living there. I realised it was the place for me. I owned a small orange Ford van. I packed the van and went. St Ives! In those days it was still a working fishing port, with tourism and artists tolerated, but kindly tolerated. Coming from Torquay, where I had felt like a rhinoceros walking along the streets, the relief of mingling with other crazy artists was enormous…I felt secure and there was a sort of electricity in the air.’ (2) O’Casey’s abstract style was poetic and focussed on discovering the simplicity of objects and forms. For him there was ‘nothing new under the sun, but an infinity of arrangements’ and when asked about objects that captivated him it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’. He would return to geometric motifs and natural forms again and again throughout his career and considered himself a ‘traditional innovator’, fascinated by ancient, primitive and non-western art, but imbuing it with his own poetic sensibilities and discoveries through all the creative channels he explored. Although often overshadowed by his St Ives contemporaries, O’Casey’s legacy, talents and unique skills are now being reassessed, and greater importance given to his accomplishments beyond narrow and interlocked art circles. We are delighted to bring this collection of his work together to showcase many of the aspects of O’Casey’s prodigious artistic output, and to celebrate his significance as a true renaissance figure of British 20th-century art and craft. 1 / Peter Murray quoted in Sarah Coulson and Sophie Bowness, Breon O’Casey: An Anthology of his Writings, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, 2005, p.3 2 / Breon O’Casey quoted in Brian Fallon and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey¸ Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.48.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Bird in the Wood, 2008
    Apr. 28, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Bird in the Wood, 2008

    Est: £12,000 - £18,000

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Bird in the Wood, 2008 signed, titled and dated (to reverse), acrylic on canvas (91cm x 121cm (35 3/4in x 47 5/8in)) Provenance Clark Art Ltd, Hale; Private Collection, UK. Literature Fallon, Brian, Breon O'Casey: A Decade, Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1999, p. 63, illustrated. ‘Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent. Breon O’Casey’s sensitive observations of life, art and nature inform his rich personal, visual language and beautifully balanced prose. His respect for his immediate environment and for tradition have enabled him to move forward with a confident, quiet ease, creating a refreshingly honest approach to art. He is an artist who is prepared to wait for the right shape, for the right brushstroke or the perfectly chosen word to express his meaning’. (Peter Murray (1)) Breon O’Casey was a true polymath and was possibly unique in the combination of skills he possessed over so many mediums in a single career. He was a painter, printmaker, weaver, sculptor and jewellery maker and it is hard to think of any other contemporary artist and maker who was so broadly talented. Son of the playwright Sean O’Casey (1880-1964), Breon spent most of his career in Cornwall, where he was closely associated with many of the painters, potters and sculptors of the St Ives movement. He arrived in the coastal town in the 1959 and served artistic apprenticeships under sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell, and was friends with leading artists such as Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O’Malley. In 1999 O’Casey recalled: ‘One day, watching television, some time in the late fifties, I saw a film about Alfred Wallis…the film incidentally showed St Ives and the studios of the artists living there. I realised it was the place for me. I owned a small orange Ford van. I packed the van and went. St Ives! In those days it was still a working fishing port, with tourism and artists tolerated, but kindly tolerated. Coming from Torquay, where I had felt like a rhinoceros walking along the streets, the relief of mingling with other crazy artists was enormous…I felt secure and there was a sort of electricity in the air.’ (2) O’Casey’s abstract style was poetic and focussed on discovering the simplicity of objects and forms. For him there was ‘nothing new under the sun, but an infinity of arrangements’ and when asked about objects that captivated him it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’. He would return to geometric motifs and natural forms again and again throughout his career and considered himself a ‘traditional innovator’, fascinated by ancient, primitive and non-western art, but imbuing it with his own poetic sensibilities and discoveries through all the creative channels he explored. Although often overshadowed by his St Ives contemporaries, O’Casey’s legacy, talents and unique skills are now being reassessed, and greater importance given to his accomplishments beyond narrow and interlocked art circles. We are delighted to bring this collection of his work together to showcase many of the aspects of O’Casey’s prodigious artistic output, and to celebrate his significance as a true renaissance figure of British 20th-century art and craft. 1 / Peter Murray quoted in Sarah Coulson and Sophie Bowness, Breon O’Casey: An Anthology of his Writings, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, 2005, p.3 2 / Breon O’Casey quoted in Brian Fallon and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey¸ Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.48.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Cockerel
    Apr. 28, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Cockerel

    Est: £4,000 - £6,000

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Cockerel stamped BOC (to base), bronze (9.3cm high, 7in wide (3 5/8in high, 2 3/4in wide)) Provenance Private Collection, London. ‘Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent. Breon O’Casey’s sensitive observations of life, art and nature inform his rich personal, visual language and beautifully balanced prose. His respect for his immediate environment and for tradition have enabled him to move forward with a confident, quiet ease, creating a refreshingly honest approach to art. He is an artist who is prepared to wait for the right shape, for the right brushstroke or the perfectly chosen word to express his meaning’. (Peter Murray (1)) Breon O’Casey was a true polymath and was possibly unique in the combination of skills he possessed over so many mediums in a single career. He was a painter, printmaker, weaver, sculptor and jewellery maker and it is hard to think of any other contemporary artist and maker who was so broadly talented. Son of the playwright Sean O’Casey (1880-1964), Breon spent most of his career in Cornwall, where he was closely associated with many of the painters, potters and sculptors of the St Ives movement. He arrived in the coastal town in the 1959 and served artistic apprenticeships under sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell, and was friends with leading artists such as Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O’Malley. In 1999 O’Casey recalled: ‘One day, watching television, some time in the late fifties, I saw a film about Alfred Wallis…the film incidentally showed St Ives and the studios of the artists living there. I realised it was the place for me. I owned a small orange Ford van. I packed the van and went. St Ives! In those days it was still a working fishing port, with tourism and artists tolerated, but kindly tolerated. Coming from Torquay, where I had felt like a rhinoceros walking along the streets, the relief of mingling with other crazy artists was enormous…I felt secure and there was a sort of electricity in the air.’ (2) O’Casey’s abstract style was poetic and focussed on discovering the simplicity of objects and forms. For him there was ‘nothing new under the sun, but an infinity of arrangements’ and when asked about objects that captivated him it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’. He would return to geometric motifs and natural forms again and again throughout his career and considered himself a ‘traditional innovator’, fascinated by ancient, primitive and non-western art, but imbuing it with his own poetic sensibilities and discoveries through all the creative channels he explored. Although often overshadowed by his St Ives contemporaries, O’Casey’s legacy, talents and unique skills are now being reassessed, and greater importance given to his accomplishments beyond narrow and interlocked art circles. We are delighted to bring this collection of his work together to showcase many of the aspects of O’Casey’s prodigious artistic output, and to celebrate his significance as a true renaissance figure of British 20th-century art and craft. 1 / Peter Murray quoted in Sarah Coulson and Sophie Bowness, Breon O’Casey: An Anthology of his Writings, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, 2005, p.3 2 / Breon O’Casey quoted in Brian Fallon and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey¸ Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.48.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Bather
    Apr. 28, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Bather

    Est: £6,000 - £8,000

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Bather signed BOC and numbered I/V (to marble base), bronze (26.5cm high (10 1/2in high) excluding base) Provenance Private Collection, London. ‘Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent. Breon O’Casey’s sensitive observations of life, art and nature inform his rich personal, visual language and beautifully balanced prose. His respect for his immediate environment and for tradition have enabled him to move forward with a confident, quiet ease, creating a refreshingly honest approach to art. He is an artist who is prepared to wait for the right shape, for the right brushstroke or the perfectly chosen word to express his meaning’. (Peter Murray (1)) Breon O’Casey was a true polymath and was possibly unique in the combination of skills he possessed over so many mediums in a single career. He was a painter, printmaker, weaver, sculptor and jewellery maker and it is hard to think of any other contemporary artist and maker who was so broadly talented. Son of the playwright Sean O’Casey (1880-1964), Breon spent most of his career in Cornwall, where he was closely associated with many of the painters, potters and sculptors of the St Ives movement. He arrived in the coastal town in the 1959 and served artistic apprenticeships under sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell, and was friends with leading artists such as Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O’Malley. In 1999 O’Casey recalled: ‘One day, watching television, some time in the late fifties, I saw a film about Alfred Wallis…the film incidentally showed St Ives and the studios of the artists living there. I realised it was the place for me. I owned a small orange Ford van. I packed the van and went. St Ives! In those days it was still a working fishing port, with tourism and artists tolerated, but kindly tolerated. Coming from Torquay, where I had felt like a rhinoceros walking along the streets, the relief of mingling with other crazy artists was enormous…I felt secure and there was a sort of electricity in the air.’ (2) O’Casey’s abstract style was poetic and focussed on discovering the simplicity of objects and forms. For him there was ‘nothing new under the sun, but an infinity of arrangements’ and when asked about objects that captivated him it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’. He would return to geometric motifs and natural forms again and again throughout his career and considered himself a ‘traditional innovator’, fascinated by ancient, primitive and non-western art, but imbuing it with his own poetic sensibilities and discoveries through all the creative channels he explored. Although often overshadowed by his St Ives contemporaries, O’Casey’s legacy, talents and unique skills are now being reassessed, and greater importance given to his accomplishments beyond narrow and interlocked art circles. We are delighted to bring this collection of his work together to showcase many of the aspects of O’Casey’s prodigious artistic output, and to celebrate his significance as a true renaissance figure of British 20th-century art and craft. 1 / Peter Murray quoted in Sarah Coulson and Sophie Bowness, Breon O’Casey: An Anthology of his Writings, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, 2005, p.3 2 / Breon O’Casey quoted in Brian Fallon and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey¸ Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.48.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Brooch
    Apr. 28, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Brooch

    Est: £500 - £800

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Brooch scratch initials BOC, white metal, square outline with triangular motifs (3.8cm wide (1 1/2in wide)) Provenance Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 1998. ‘Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent. Breon O’Casey’s sensitive observations of life, art and nature inform his rich personal, visual language and beautifully balanced prose. His respect for his immediate environment and for tradition have enabled him to move forward with a confident, quiet ease, creating a refreshingly honest approach to art. He is an artist who is prepared to wait for the right shape, for the right brushstroke or the perfectly chosen word to express his meaning’. (Peter Murray (1)) Breon O’Casey was a true polymath and was possibly unique in the combination of skills he possessed over so many mediums in a single career. He was a painter, printmaker, weaver, sculptor and jewellery maker and it is hard to think of any other contemporary artist and maker who was so broadly talented. Son of the playwright Sean O’Casey (1880-1964), Breon spent most of his career in Cornwall, where he was closely associated with many of the painters, potters and sculptors of the St Ives movement. He arrived in the coastal town in the 1959 and served artistic apprenticeships under sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell, and was friends with leading artists such as Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O’Malley. In 1999 O’Casey recalled: ‘One day, watching television, some time in the late fifties, I saw a film about Alfred Wallis…the film incidentally showed St Ives and the studios of the artists living there. I realised it was the place for me. I owned a small orange Ford van. I packed the van and went. St Ives! In those days it was still a working fishing port, with tourism and artists tolerated, but kindly tolerated. Coming from Torquay, where I had felt like a rhinoceros walking along the streets, the relief of mingling with other crazy artists was enormous…I felt secure and there was a sort of electricity in the air.’ (2) O’Casey’s abstract style was poetic and focussed on discovering the simplicity of objects and forms. For him there was ‘nothing new under the sun, but an infinity of arrangements’ and when asked about objects that captivated him it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’. He would return to geometric motifs and natural forms again and again throughout his career and considered himself a ‘traditional innovator’, fascinated by ancient, primitive and non-western art, but imbuing it with his own poetic sensibilities and discoveries through all the creative channels he explored. Although often overshadowed by his St Ives contemporaries, O’Casey’s legacy, talents and unique skills are now being reassessed, and greater importance given to his accomplishments beyond narrow and interlocked art circles. We are delighted to bring this collection of his work together to showcase many of the aspects of O’Casey’s prodigious artistic output, and to celebrate his significance as a true renaissance figure of British 20th-century art and craft. 1 / Peter Murray quoted in Sarah Coulson and Sophie Bowness, Breon O’Casey: An Anthology of his Writings, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, 2005, p.3 2 / Breon O’Casey quoted in Brian Fallon and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey¸ Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.48.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Two Pairs of Earrings
    Apr. 28, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Two Pairs of Earrings

    Est: £400 - £600

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Two Pairs of Earrings the first of pendent design with a coral bead, unmarked, yellow metal; the second of triangular outline, set with a green hardstone, unmarked, white metal (Lengths: 4cm and 0.9cm (1 1/2in and 2/5in)) Qty: (2) Provenance Private Collection, Scotland. ‘Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent. Breon O’Casey’s sensitive observations of life, art and nature inform his rich personal, visual language and beautifully balanced prose. His respect for his immediate environment and for tradition have enabled him to move forward with a confident, quiet ease, creating a refreshingly honest approach to art. He is an artist who is prepared to wait for the right shape, for the right brushstroke or the perfectly chosen word to express his meaning’. (Peter Murray (1)) Breon O’Casey was a true polymath and was possibly unique in the combination of skills he possessed over so many mediums in a single career. He was a painter, printmaker, weaver, sculptor and jewellery maker and it is hard to think of any other contemporary artist and maker who was so broadly talented. Son of the playwright Sean O’Casey (1880-1964), Breon spent most of his career in Cornwall, where he was closely associated with many of the painters, potters and sculptors of the St Ives movement. He arrived in the coastal town in the 1959 and served artistic apprenticeships under sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell, and was friends with leading artists such as Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O’Malley. In 1999 O’Casey recalled: ‘One day, watching television, some time in the late fifties, I saw a film about Alfred Wallis…the film incidentally showed St Ives and the studios of the artists living there. I realised it was the place for me. I owned a small orange Ford van. I packed the van and went. St Ives! In those days it was still a working fishing port, with tourism and artists tolerated, but kindly tolerated. Coming from Torquay, where I had felt like a rhinoceros walking along the streets, the relief of mingling with other crazy artists was enormous…I felt secure and there was a sort of electricity in the air.’ (2) O’Casey’s abstract style was poetic and focussed on discovering the simplicity of objects and forms. For him there was ‘nothing new under the sun, but an infinity of arrangements’ and when asked about objects that captivated him it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’. He would return to geometric motifs and natural forms again and again throughout his career and considered himself a ‘traditional innovator’, fascinated by ancient, primitive and non-western art, but imbuing it with his own poetic sensibilities and discoveries through all the creative channels he explored. Although often overshadowed by his St Ives contemporaries, O’Casey’s legacy, talents and unique skills are now being reassessed, and greater importance given to his accomplishments beyond narrow and interlocked art circles. We are delighted to bring this collection of his work together to showcase many of the aspects of O’Casey’s prodigious artistic output, and to celebrate his significance as a true renaissance figure of British 20th-century art and craft. 1 / Peter Murray quoted in Sarah Coulson and Sophie Bowness, Breon O’Casey: An Anthology of his Writings, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, 2005, p.3 2 / Breon O’Casey quoted in Brian Fallon and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey¸ Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.48. Please be aware that all Lots marked with the symbol Y may be subject to CITES regulations when exporting these items outside Great Britain. These regulations may be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/imports-exports/cites We accept no liability for any Lots which may be subject to CITES but have not be identified as such.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Two Pairs of Earrings
    Apr. 28, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Two Pairs of Earrings

    Est: £500 - £800

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Two Pairs of Earrings the first modelled in silver of cirular lattice design, hallmarked for Birmingham 1981, makers mark; the second of circular outline with beaded detail, makers mark only, white metal (lattice 3.5cm diameter (1 3/8in diameter); beaded 3cm diameter (1 1/8in diameter) approximately) Qty: (2) Provenance Private Collection, Scotland. ‘Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent. Breon O’Casey’s sensitive observations of life, art and nature inform his rich personal, visual language and beautifully balanced prose. His respect for his immediate environment and for tradition have enabled him to move forward with a confident, quiet ease, creating a refreshingly honest approach to art. He is an artist who is prepared to wait for the right shape, for the right brushstroke or the perfectly chosen word to express his meaning’. (Peter Murray (1)) Breon O’Casey was a true polymath and was possibly unique in the combination of skills he possessed over so many mediums in a single career. He was a painter, printmaker, weaver, sculptor and jewellery maker and it is hard to think of any other contemporary artist and maker who was so broadly talented. Son of the playwright Sean O’Casey (1880-1964), Breon spent most of his career in Cornwall, where he was closely associated with many of the painters, potters and sculptors of the St Ives movement. He arrived in the coastal town in the 1959 and served artistic apprenticeships under sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell, and was friends with leading artists such as Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O’Malley. In 1999 O’Casey recalled: ‘One day, watching television, some time in the late fifties, I saw a film about Alfred Wallis…the film incidentally showed St Ives and the studios of the artists living there. I realised it was the place for me. I owned a small orange Ford van. I packed the van and went. St Ives! In those days it was still a working fishing port, with tourism and artists tolerated, but kindly tolerated. Coming from Torquay, where I had felt like a rhinoceros walking along the streets, the relief of mingling with other crazy artists was enormous…I felt secure and there was a sort of electricity in the air.’ (2) O’Casey’s abstract style was poetic and focussed on discovering the simplicity of objects and forms. For him there was ‘nothing new under the sun, but an infinity of arrangements’ and when asked about objects that captivated him it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’. He would return to geometric motifs and natural forms again and again throughout his career and considered himself a ‘traditional innovator’, fascinated by ancient, primitive and non-western art, but imbuing it with his own poetic sensibilities and discoveries through all the creative channels he explored. Although often overshadowed by his St Ives contemporaries, O’Casey’s legacy, talents and unique skills are now being reassessed, and greater importance given to his accomplishments beyond narrow and interlocked art circles. We are delighted to bring this collection of his work together to showcase many of the aspects of O’Casey’s prodigious artistic output, and to celebrate his significance as a true renaissance figure of British 20th-century art and craft. 1 / Peter Murray quoted in Sarah Coulson and Sophie Bowness, Breon O’Casey: An Anthology of his Writings, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, 2005, p.3 2 / Breon O’Casey quoted in Brian Fallon and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey¸ Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.48.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Necklace
    Apr. 28, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Necklace

    Est: £500 - £800

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Necklace unmarked, white metal (Length: 59cm (23 1/4in)) Provenance Private Collection, Scotland. ‘Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent. Breon O’Casey’s sensitive observations of life, art and nature inform his rich personal, visual language and beautifully balanced prose. His respect for his immediate environment and for tradition have enabled him to move forward with a confident, quiet ease, creating a refreshingly honest approach to art. He is an artist who is prepared to wait for the right shape, for the right brushstroke or the perfectly chosen word to express his meaning’. (Peter Murray (1)) Breon O’Casey was a true polymath and was possibly unique in the combination of skills he possessed over so many mediums in a single career. He was a painter, printmaker, weaver, sculptor and jewellery maker and it is hard to think of any other contemporary artist and maker who was so broadly talented. Son of the playwright Sean O’Casey (1880-1964), Breon spent most of his career in Cornwall, where he was closely associated with many of the painters, potters and sculptors of the St Ives movement. He arrived in the coastal town in the 1959 and served artistic apprenticeships under sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell, and was friends with leading artists such as Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O’Malley. In 1999 O’Casey recalled: ‘One day, watching television, some time in the late fifties, I saw a film about Alfred Wallis…the film incidentally showed St Ives and the studios of the artists living there. I realised it was the place for me. I owned a small orange Ford van. I packed the van and went. St Ives! In those days it was still a working fishing port, with tourism and artists tolerated, but kindly tolerated. Coming from Torquay, where I had felt like a rhinoceros walking along the streets, the relief of mingling with other crazy artists was enormous…I felt secure and there was a sort of electricity in the air.’ (2) O’Casey’s abstract style was poetic and focussed on discovering the simplicity of objects and forms. For him there was ‘nothing new under the sun, but an infinity of arrangements’ and when asked about objects that captivated him it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’. He would return to geometric motifs and natural forms again and again throughout his career and considered himself a ‘traditional innovator’, fascinated by ancient, primitive and non-western art, but imbuing it with his own poetic sensibilities and discoveries through all the creative channels he explored. Although often overshadowed by his St Ives contemporaries, O’Casey’s legacy, talents and unique skills are now being reassessed, and greater importance given to his accomplishments beyond narrow and interlocked art circles. We are delighted to bring this collection of his work together to showcase many of the aspects of O’Casey’s prodigious artistic output, and to celebrate his significance as a true renaissance figure of British 20th-century art and craft. 1 / Peter Murray quoted in Sarah Coulson and Sophie Bowness, Breon O’Casey: An Anthology of his Writings, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, 2005, p.3 2 / Breon O’Casey quoted in Brian Fallon and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey¸ Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.48.

    Lyon & Turnbull
  • § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Boat, 1999
    Apr. 28, 2023

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Boat, 1999

    Est: £800 - £1,200

    § Breon O'Casey (British 1928-2011) Boat, 1999 signed and dated in pencil in margin (lower right), numbered 11/15 (lower left), linocut on paper (45cm x 44cm (17 3/4in x 17 3/8in)) Provenance Private Collection, Scotland. ‘Breon O’Casey is a man for all seasons. He thinks and feels with his hands and moves with apparent ease from two-dimensional to three-dimensional activities, from one medium to another, without losing the artistic integrity of his intent. Breon O’Casey’s sensitive observations of life, art and nature inform his rich personal, visual language and beautifully balanced prose. His respect for his immediate environment and for tradition have enabled him to move forward with a confident, quiet ease, creating a refreshingly honest approach to art. He is an artist who is prepared to wait for the right shape, for the right brushstroke or the perfectly chosen word to express his meaning’. (Peter Murray (1)) Breon O’Casey was a true polymath and was possibly unique in the combination of skills he possessed over so many mediums in a single career. He was a painter, printmaker, weaver, sculptor and jewellery maker and it is hard to think of any other contemporary artist and maker who was so broadly talented. Son of the playwright Sean O’Casey (1880-1964), Breon spent most of his career in Cornwall, where he was closely associated with many of the painters, potters and sculptors of the St Ives movement. He arrived in the coastal town in the 1959 and served artistic apprenticeships under sculptors Barbara Hepworth and Denis Mitchell, and was friends with leading artists such as Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Tony O’Malley. In 1999 O’Casey recalled: ‘One day, watching television, some time in the late fifties, I saw a film about Alfred Wallis…the film incidentally showed St Ives and the studios of the artists living there. I realised it was the place for me. I owned a small orange Ford van. I packed the van and went. St Ives! In those days it was still a working fishing port, with tourism and artists tolerated, but kindly tolerated. Coming from Torquay, where I had felt like a rhinoceros walking along the streets, the relief of mingling with other crazy artists was enormous…I felt secure and there was a sort of electricity in the air.’ (2) O’Casey’s abstract style was poetic and focussed on discovering the simplicity of objects and forms. For him there was ‘nothing new under the sun, but an infinity of arrangements’ and when asked about objects that captivated him it was ‘not the wood, not the tree, but the leaf; not the distant view, but the hedge; not the mountain, but the stone’. He would return to geometric motifs and natural forms again and again throughout his career and considered himself a ‘traditional innovator’, fascinated by ancient, primitive and non-western art, but imbuing it with his own poetic sensibilities and discoveries through all the creative channels he explored. Although often overshadowed by his St Ives contemporaries, O’Casey’s legacy, talents and unique skills are now being reassessed, and greater importance given to his accomplishments beyond narrow and interlocked art circles. We are delighted to bring this collection of his work together to showcase many of the aspects of O’Casey’s prodigious artistic output, and to celebrate his significance as a true renaissance figure of British 20th-century art and craft. 1 / Peter Murray quoted in Sarah Coulson and Sophie Bowness, Breon O’Casey: An Anthology of his Writings, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, 2005, p.3 2 / Breon O’Casey quoted in Brian Fallon and Breon O’Casey, Breon O’Casey¸ Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1999, p.48.

    Lyon & Turnbull
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