Aloysius C. O'Kelly Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Aloysius C. O'Kelly Art Value Price Guide

Oct. 17, 2024
19th Century Impressionist Oil on Canvas
Est: $200 - $400
19th Century Impressionist Oil on Canvas by Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936). Depicting Forrest with Stream. Signed Lower Right. Has minor tear upper left. Has paint loss with indentation lower right - Approx. 2" long. Needs a cleaning. Framed. Measures 34.25" tall x 28.5" wide. Irish artist Aloysius O’Kelly was an enigmatic figure, who travelled extensively throughout his career. He was among the first Irish artists to attend the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1874, and would establish his reputation in the salons of France with realist genre scenes such as Mass in a Connemara Cabin, exhibited in the 1884 Paris Salon. In the early 1880s, he worked in a journalistic capacity as a ‘Special Artist’ for British publications, covering the anti-colonial campaigns of the Irish Land Wars and the Sudanese nationalist movement. The extent of O’Kelly’s interest or involvement in politics is unclear. He had a close relationship with his brother James, an Irish nationalist politician and member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and in 1897 the artist put himself forward for election in South Roscommon, without success. However, O’Kelly was absent during the turbulent years of the Irish revolutionary period, living primarily in Brittany and New York. In 1926 he returned to Ireland at 73 years of age, with the intention of creating a new series of paintings of Irish national monuments. His letters to his nephew in New York, James Herbert, provide a first-hand account of life in the newly independent Free State of Ireland. In particular, his descriptions of ruined public, military and residential buildings record the aftermath of the Irish Civil War and the War of Independence. All invoices must be paid within 24 hours of the sale. We offer multiple shipping options, please read the terms as they have changed. We also offer Pick-Ups Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday immediately following the sale. BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. PLEASE READ THE NEW TERMS!!!
Bodnar's Auction Sales
Sep. 20, 2024
Aloysius O'Kelly "Breton Interior", oil on canvas
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
Aloysius O'Kelly (Irish/New York, 1851-1928), "Breton Interior", oil on canvas, signed lower left, 29 in. x 36 1/4 in., framed, overall 36 3/8 in. x 43 5/8 in. x 1 1/4 in. Provenance: "Estates Auction American and European Paintings", Morton's Auction Exchange, New Orleans, LA, Mar. 28, 1978.
Neal Auction Company
Apr. 19, 2024
Aloysius O'Kelly (Irish/New York, 1851-1928)
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
Aloysius O'Kelly (Irish/New York, 1851-1928), "Harbor", oil on panel, signed lower right, 8 7/8 in. x 12 3/4 in., framed, overall 10 1/4 in. x 14 1/4 in. x 5/8 in.
Neal Auction Company
Feb. 17, 2024
Aloysius C. O'Kelly (1851 - 1928) American/ Ireland
Est: $1,500 - $2,000
Aloysius C. O'Kelly (1851 - 1928) Oil on canvas, board, signed lower right, measures (14 x 20) and (16 x 22) inches w/ frame. Born in Dublin, studying in Paris, painting in Brittany and traveling widely, exhibiting regularly in Dublin and London, Aloysius O'Kelly was virtually forgotten in Ireland until recently, because he emigrated to America. He was born in Dublin in 1851. In about 1875, he went to Paris and became a student of Leon Bonnat and Jean Leon Gerome at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. O'Kelly was one of the first Irish artists in Brittany, exhibiting Breton scenes in Dublin and in London in the late 1870's, and again in the mid 1880's.
Cutler Bay Auctions
Feb. 14, 2024
19th Century Impressionist Oil on Canvas
Est: $300 - $500
19th Century Impressionist Oil on Canvas by Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936). Depicting Forrest with Stream. Signed Lower Right. Has minor tear upper left. Needs a cleaning. Framed. Measures 34.25" tall x 28.5" wide. All invoices must be paid within 24 hours of the sale. We offer multiple shipping options, please read the terms as they have changed. We also offer Pick-Ups Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday immediately following the sale. BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. PLEASE READ THE NEW TERMS!!!
Bodnar's Auction Sales
Dec. 06, 2023
Aloysius O'Kelly RHA (1853-1936) Inside the Chapel (The Chapel of Locmaria-an-Hent, Brittany) Oil on canvas, 92 x 73cm (36¼ x 28¾) Signed and dated 1905 Provenance: Sale, William Doyle Auctioneers, New York, 5 May 1994, lot no. 109; With Cyn
Est: €20,000 - €30,000
Aloysius O'Kelly RHA (1853-1936) Inside the Chapel (The Chapel of Locmaria-an-Hent, Brittany) Oil on canvas, 92 x 73cm (36¼ x 28¾) Signed and dated 1905 Provenance: Sale, William Doyle Auctioneers, New York, 5 May 1994, lot no. 109; With Cynthia O'Connor Gallery, Dublin, July/August 1994 as Stained Glass Window, Brittany; Sale, Mealy's Auctioneers, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny, 30 October 2010, lot no. 609 Exhibited: Possibly New York Watercolour Club, no. 3 as Devotion; Corcoran Biennial Exhibition, Washington, 1907, no. 178; Cynthia O'Connor Gallery, Dublin, 1994; Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, November 1999, no. 24 Illustrated Literature: Niamh O'Sullivan, Aloysius O'Kelly, Art, Nation, Empire, Field Day Publication, University of Notre Dame, Dublin, 2010 Few artists match the Irish painter, illustrator and political activist Aloysius OKelly for intrigue. His involvement in republican politics secret addresses, false identities, dangerous liaisons began in Paris when he was a student at the École des Beaux-Arts. His admission to the prestigious studio of Jean-Léon Gérôme, as well as the private studio of Joseph-Florentin Bonnat added to his pedigree as an young artist of note in the 1870s. In turn, he brought Irish interests to bear on French cultural life. His chef doeuvre, Mass in a Connemara Cabin, was the first painting of an Irish subject ever exhibited in the Paris Salon when it was shown there in 1884. Summer holidays were spent in Brittany, away from the academic strictures of the École. There, artists from all nationalities immersed themselves in more naturalistic modes of representation. In Brittany, OKelly reconciled a range of styles derived from both traditional and avant-garde art, in effect blending academic, realist and plein-air elements into an innovative mode of rural naturalism. This painting, and a number of others representing religious devotion are set in the pilgrimage chapel of Locmaria-an-hent in the commune of Saint Yvi, between Pont-Aven and Quimper. Renowned for its stained glass, the church was built in the sixteenth century and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. OKelly imbues the stained glass with a vibrant prismatic quality (an earlier version, Interior of a Church in Brittany (National Gallery of Ireland), painted in the late 1870s, is more ethnographic in character). In paintings of religious subjects what were considered superstitious rituals and strange religious customs contemporary right-wing critics perceived the profound piety of the people, while left-wing critics saw nothing more than a display of the picturesque. But all agreed, the soul of the race was visible in the features of Breton worshippers. OKellys 1905 painting, would have appealed to those who gave religious piety primacy. According to critic Henry Blackburn, Bretons had only three vices (avarice, contempt for women and drunkenness) in contrast to five virtues (love of country, resignation to the will of God, loyalty, perseverance and hospitality). Nowhere are there finer peasantry; nowhere do we see more dignity of aspect in field labour; nowhere more picturesque ruins, he argued. But, he equivocated, Bretons are behindhand in civilization, nowhere does one find such primitive habitations and such dirt. Such aspersions compare with those ascribed to the peasants of the west of Ireland at the time. Over time, jaundiced accounts of Breton stupidity, savagery and superstition were transformed into sociological studies of Breton poverty, primitivism and piety. But an artist less dependent on the popular stereotype, such as OKelly, would have been attuned to the realities of communities in transition, and been aware of the need for subtle correction in the representation of people afflicted by acute poverty. He thus paints the peasants of Brittany with the same respect and integrity he accorded their Irish counterparts. Indeed, he relished the Celtic historical, cultural and ethnic connections between Ireland and Brittany. OKelly shows himself to have been an observer of the variety and elaborations of Breton dress. The women wear distinctive white linen coiffes and wide collars, dark skirts, fitted bodices, embroidered waistcoats, and heavy wooden sabots. The men wore woolen jackets, waistcoats, bragoù-bras, black gaiters and felt broad-rimmed hats The artist and ethnographer, René-Yves Creston has identified sixty-six principal styles of Breton dress and over 1,200 different kinds of coiffe revealing the rich typography of Breton dress in which almost infinitesimal variations identify the locality and status of the individual, and which articulated relationships of wealth, kinship and ethnicity. Dr. Niamh O'Sullivan, November 2023
Adam's
Nov. 12, 2023
Aloysius O'Kelly (NY,Irish,1851-1928) oil painting antique
Est: $2,100 - $2,700
ARTIST: Aloysius Kelly (New York, Ireland, 1851 - 1928) TITLE: Autumn Landscape MEDIUM: oil on board CONDITION: Few minor paint losses. No visible inpaint under UV light. ART SIZE: 10 x 13 inches / 25 x 33 cm FRAME SIZE: 11 x 15 inches / 27 x 38 cm SIGNATURE: lower right NAME VARIANTS: Aloysius Kelly CATEGORY: old antique vintage painting for auction sale online AD: ART CONSIGNMENTS WANTED. CONTACT US SKU#: 127649 US Shipping $49 + insurance. BIOGRAPHY: O'Kelly traveled to Paris in order to enroll at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1874, where he studied under Bonnat and Gerome. To enter the Gerome's atelier was a great honour, however, the master was exceedingly strict and merciless in his criticism; such that a number of students could not last the distance. It is uncertain whether O'Kelly ever matriculated.From Gerome, O'Kelly developed an interest in Oriental scenes. He traveled to Brittany in 1876 painting its aesthetic coastlines, fishing ports and villages.In October 1881, Charles Stewart Parnell, a member of Parliament and leader of the Irish Party, was arrested and imprisoned in Kilmainham. Two days following his arrest, Aloysius' brother, James J. O'Kelly, along with some other Party members, including John Dillon, were imprisoned where they remained until May 1882. A number of Aloysius' drawings during this period portrayed the political situation dealing with his brother's incarceration.Aloysius inevitably became embroiled in the murky and often secretive life of his brother. He began to paint and sketch political activists including members of the Land League.O'Kelly lived in Concarneau, Connemara and eventually the United States, painting rural scenes in the prior and city life in New York City. He knew Mark Twain, and painted a depiction of Huckleberry Finn, which the author inspected and commented on.He died on 12 January 1936 in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Broward Auction Gallery LLC
Feb. 28, 2023
ALOYSIUS C. O'KELLY
Est: €5,000 - €7,000
Royal Horse Artillery. Oil on canvas. Signed lower right.
Sheppards
Jul. 29, 2021
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY - TIME SQUARE
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Lot 23 Aloysius O'Kelly Irish (1853-1936) Time Square (1913) oil on canvas signed lower right 18 x 14 inches Provenance: Property from the Estate of Eleanor Jacobs
Capsule Gallery Auction
Jun. 09, 2021
Aloysius O'Kelly Irish/American, 1851-1928 A View Through the Trees
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
Aloysius O'Kelly Irish/American, 1851-1928 A View Through the Trees Signed A. O'KELLY (ll) Oil on panel 9 1/4 x 13 inches (23.5 x 33 cm) C
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Jun. 08, 2021
Aloysius C. O'Kelly, "Confidences"
Est: $800 - $1,200
Aloysius C. O'Kelly (American/Irish 1851-1928) oil on panel depicting two ladies meeting beneath a crescent moon, titled verso "Confidences" housed in a custom giltwood frame, 9 1/4" x 13" panel, 15 1/8" x 18 7/8" framed.
Old Kinderhook Auction Company
Feb. 22, 2020
Aloysius OKelly Interior Church Scene Oil Painting
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
Aloysius C O'Kelly Interior Church Scene Oil Painting. Oil painting on canvas, signed. Interior church scene in carved gilt wood frame, a scene of Breton France. Aloysius C. O'Kelly 1851 - 1928) lived and worked in in Ireland, France and New York. Measures 40 x 29 inches. Private Collection, Greenwich Connecticut, this painting has been in the family collection since the 1920s.
Greenwich Auction
Sep. 28, 2019
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY (AMERICAN, 1851-1928) FISHERWOMEN ON THE COAST Oil on canvas: 20 x 34 in.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY (AMERICAN, 1851-1928) FISHERWOMEN ON THE COAST Oil on canvas: 20 x 34 in. Framed; lower right signed: Aloysius O'Kelly; possibly the coast of Ireland
Potomack Company
Mar. 03, 2019
Aloysius O'Kelly (Irish/American (1851-1928) Oil On Panel, Boats In A Harbor
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
Oil on panel depicting boats in harbor with colorful sails casting their reflections on the bay waters. The boats are clustered tightly together against the background of a clouded sky. Presented in an ornate relief gilt frame with shell and floral motif. Signed lower right A. O'Kelly. Dimensions: Sight: 12 1/2" x 8 3/4" Frame: 21" x 17 1/4" Few insignificant spots of in-painting that can be seen on our web-site at: www.blackrockgalleries.com with black light.
Black Rock Galleries
Jan. 10, 2019
Aloysius O'kelly Oil On Board, Impressionist
Est: $10 - $1,000
Signed Lower Left: A. O'kelly. 12.5" X 9.5" Oil On Board. Written On Reverse: The Arrival At The Metropolitan Opera. The Opening Of The Opera Season. 27 - The Arrival At The Opera. Opening Night. Aloysius O'kelly (1851-1928) Died In Brooklyn, N. Y. 1928. Framed: 21" X 18".
Berner's Auction Gallery
Nov. 21, 2018
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY | Porte de la Caserne, Tangier
Est: £4,000 - £6,000
oil on canvas
Sotheby's
Jul. 21, 2018
ALOYSIUS C. O'KELLY (American/Irish, 1850-1928). BARBARY COAST SCENES: TWO WORKS, each signed. Oil on canvas.
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
ALOYSIUS C. O'KELLY (American/Irish, 1850-1928). BARBARY COAST SCENES: TWO WORKS, each signed. Oil on canvas - Framed, 14 in. x 10 in., each
Sloans & Kenyon
Feb. 26, 2018
Aloysius C. O’Kelly (1853-1936) HEAD OF A GIRL
Est: €2,000 - €3,000
signed lower right
Whyte's
Feb. 11, 2018
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY, (Irish, 1851-1928), Tree Lined Lane, oil on canvas, 21 x 15 in., frame: 25 x 18 1/2 in.
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY (Irish, 1851-1928) Tree Lined Lane oil on canvas signed A. O'Kelly, l.r. 21 x 15 in., frame: 25 x 18 1/2 in.
Grogan & Company
May. 31, 2017
Aloysius O'Kelly (1850-1929)Portrait of a Young Breton GirlOil on canvas, 91.5 x 63.5cm (36 x 25'')Signed and dated 1905Exhibited: Re-orientations, Aloysius OKelly: Painting, Politics and Popular Culture, Hugh Lane Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin
Est: €7,000 - €10,000
Aloysius O'Kelly (1850-1929)Portrait of a Young Breton GirlOil on canvas, 91.5 x 63.5cm (36 x 25'')Signed and dated 1905Exhibited: Re-orientations, Aloysius OKelly: Painting, Politics and Popular Culture, Hugh Lane Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, 1999-2000, no 25.Literature: Niamh OSullivan, Re-orientations, Aloysius OKelly: Painting, Politics and Popular Culture, Hugh Lane Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, 1999-2000; and Aloysius OKelly: Art, Nation, Empire, Field Day, 2010.In the late nineteenth century, OKelly embraced increasingly naturalistic concerns, but this iridescent painting is more modernist than usual from OKelly. The young girl is treated as an integrated element in the landscape, saturated with hot colour. Nineteenth-century paintings of Bretons show women wearing distinctive white linen coiffes and wide collars, dark skirts, waisted bodices, embroidered waistcoats, and heavy wooden sabots, but this modern Mademoiselle is informal in her bare feet, and modern in her dress, showing the evolution of peasant life in Brittany at the turn of the twentieth century. Niamh OSullivan May 2017
Adam's
Sep. 17, 2016
Oil Portrait Painting by Artist Aloysius O'Kelly
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
Beautiful Portrait of a woman. Oil on canvas, signed lower left. Approximate Measurements: Framed - 29" T x 22" W. Condition: Painting has not been cleaned.
Antique 2 Modern Auction House
Jul. 13, 2016
ALOYSIUS O’KELLY (1850-1929) Portrait of a young Breton Girl
Est: £15,000 - £25,000
ALOYSIUS O’KELLY (1850-1929) Portrait of a young Breton Girl signed and dated ‘Aloysius O’Kelly/1905’ (lower right) oil on canvas 36 x 25 in. (91.5 x 63.5 cm.)
Christie's
Jun. 14, 2016
ALOYSIUS C. O'KELLY, (IRISH/AMERICAN 1850-1928), HORSE CART ALONG THE SHORE
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
ALOYSIUS C. O'KELLY (irish/american 1850-1928) HORSE CART ALONG THE SHORE Signed 'Aloysius O'Kelly' bottom right, oil on canvas 20 x 32 in. (50.8 x 81.3cm) provenance: Louis Antoville, New York. Private Collection, Massachusetts.
Freeman's | Hindman
May. 04, 2016
ALOYSIUS C. O’KELLY (IRISH/AMERICAN, 1850-1928) Ave Maria - procession religieuse en Bretagne
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
ALOYSIUS C. O’KELLY (IRISH/AMERICAN, 1850-1928) Ave Maria - procession religieuse en Bretagne signed and dated ‘Aloysius O’Kelly/ 1909’ (lower right) oil on canvas 49 3/4 x 64in (124.5 x 162.5cm) | Provenance Sale, Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, 20 February 1969, lot 90, as Religious Procession. with Gene Roddenberry, Los Angeles.
Bonhams
May. 04, 2016
ALOYSIUS C. O’KELLY (IRISH/AMERICAN, 1850-1928) A street in Cairo
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
ALOYSIUS C. O’KELLY (IRISH/AMERICAN, 1850-1928) A street in Cairo signed and inscribed ‘Aloys. O’Kelly/ Cairo’ (lower right) oil on panel 14 3/4 x 10 1/2in (37.5 x 26.7cm) | Provenance with Mathaf Gallery, Ltd., London.
Bonhams
Jan. 26, 2016
ALOYSIUS C. O'KELLY, (AMERICAN/IRISH 1850-1928), HORSE CART ALONG THE SHORE
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
ALOYSIUS C. O'KELLY (american/irish 1850-1928)/span HORSE CART ALONG THE SHORE Signed 'Aloysius O'Kelly' bottom right, oil on canvas 20 x 32 in. (50.8 x 81.3cm) provenance: /spanLouis Antoville, New York. Private Collection, Massachusetts.
Freeman's | Hindman
Dec. 02, 2015
Aloysius O'Kelly (1850-1929)Cottage interior
Est: €6,000 - €10,000
Aloysius O'Kelly (1850-1929)Cottage interior, Connemara with figuresOil on canvas, 70 x 90cm (27½ x 35½)
Adam's
Dec. 01, 2015
Aloysius O'Kelly RHA 1850-1929 FRENCH FARMHOUSE Oil on board, 9 1/2'' x 13'' (24 x 33cm), signed.
Est: €2,000 - €4,000
Aloysius O'Kelly RHA 1850-1929 FRENCH FARMHOUSE Oil on board, 9 1/2'' x 13'' (24 x 33cm), signed.
deVeres
Oct. 29, 2015
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY, Irish/American (1851-1928), Harbor View, possibly view from Englewood Cliffs, oil on panel, signed lower right, in..
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY Irish/American (1851-1928) Harbor View, possibly view from Englewood Cliffs oil on panel, signed lower right, inscribed on reverse: Englewood Cliffs. 9 1/4 x 13 Provenance: A New York Estate.
Shannon's
Sep. 30, 2015
Aloysius OKelly RHA (1850 - 1929)A Question for the Sultan & The Sultans ReplyA pair
Est: €5,000 - €7,000
Aloysius OKelly RHA (1850 - 1929)A Question for the Sultan & The Sultans ReplyA pair, oil on panel, each 18.5 x 13cm (7¼ x 5)Signed (2)Literature: Aloysius O'Kelly. Art, Nation, Empire by Niamh O'Sullivan, Catalogue Numbers 39 and 40, p.285
Adam's
Apr. 11, 2015
ALOYSIUS C. O'KELLY (1851-1928) Sunny Spring Morning oil on canvas signed lower right Aloysius O'Kelly 25 1/2" x 21"
Est: $5,000 - $10,000
ALOYSIUS C. O'KELLY (1851-1928) Sunny Spring Morning oil on canvas signed lower right Aloysius O'Kelly 25 1/2" x 21"
Nadeau's Auction Gallery
Feb. 23, 2015
Aloysius C. O’Kelly (1853-1936) FIGURE FISHING FROM A RIVERBANK
Est: €1,200 - €1,500
Aloysius C. O'Kelly (1853-1936) FIGURE FISHING FROM A RIVERBANK oil on board signed lower left h:6 w:9.50 in.
Whyte's
Nov. 24, 2014
Aloysius C. O’Kelly (1853-1936) FISHING BOATS AT CONCARNEAU, FRANCE
Est: €5,000 - €7,000
Aloysius C. O'Kelly (1853-1936) FISHING BOATS AT CONCARNEAU, FRANCE oil on canvas signed lower right h:17 w:21.75 in. Provenance: Family of the artist The most prolific subject of O'Kelly's career was Brittany. This painting was set in Concarneau, the most important fishing village of Cornouaille, just outside the fortified walls of the Ville Close, to which O'Kelly returned over and over from the 1880s to the 1920s. He was drawn time and again to the working harbour, and his paintings of Breton peasants display empathy with the hardworking fishermen and sardine factory workers of the region, just like his paintings of Irish peasants of the west of Ireland. This painting exudes spontaneity, especially in the handling of the blue and madder sails, and the reflections in the translucent water; it is nonetheless carefully structured on the axis of the foreshortened fishing boats. Professor Niamh O'Sullivan, Dublin, October 2014 Inaugural Curator, Great Hunger Museum, Hamden, Connecticut (USA) and Professor Emeritus of Visual Culture, National College of Art and Design, Dublin, author of Aloysius O'Kelly: Art, Nation, Empire, Field Day Publications, 2010.
Whyte's
Nov. 24, 2014
Aloysius C. O’Kelly (1853-1936) CASHEL, 1923
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
Aloysius C. O'Kelly (1853-1936) CASHEL, 1923 oil on canvas signed and titled lower right h:18 w:24 in. O'Kelly emigrated to New York in 1895, where he had impressive connections and his work was highly regarded. Yet his late work betrays a nostalgic relationship with his political and artistic past. He returned to Ireland in 1926, at the age of 73, still pressing his case for the establishment of a national school of painting. During this time, he wrote regularly to his nephew, James Herbert, back in New York. In this correspondence, he describes how, in Ireland, he first established himself in Cashel, which he described as 'a very ancient place with much interest but the sleepiest, quietest place you can imagine'. Here he lived a life of 'simplicity itself'. He went on to say: 'my two subjects are the ancient ecclesiastical buildings on the Rock of Cashel (of which he executed seven paintings), and Holycross Abbey. In an effort to secure commissions, O'Kelly called on the Archbishop of Cashel. When the Archbishop - 'a very well fed looking man with little inclination for art'- declined to purchase, O'Kelly pronounced 'a very low opinion of His Grace.' The Dean of Cashel, on the other hand, responded positively, commissioning a Rock of Cashel - possibly this painting. This sojourn culminated in an exhibition in Dublin, in Combridge's, Grafton Street, before he left Ireland for his final visit to Brittany, before returning to America. Professor Niamh O'Sullivan
Whyte's
Nov. 24, 2014
Aloysius C. O’Kelly (1853-1936) THE DESERT CHARGE
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
Aloysius C. O'Kelly (1853-1936) THE DESERT CHARGE oil on canvas h:18 w:30 in. Provenance: Family of the artist Indicative of a broader plan to destabilise Britain in Ireland, in 1883 Aloysius O'Kelly and his brother James went to Sudan to report on the British campaign against the Mahdi, James as correspondent for the Daily News and Aloysius as illustrator for the Pictorial World. With them were a number of French revolutionaries and socialists who had forged alliances with Irish militant and cultural nationalists during O'Kelly's sojourn in Paris in the 1870s. British involvement in the region was ostensibly to end the slave trade but, in reality, to extend Anglo-Egyptian influence further south. In 1881, Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abdallah declared himself the prophesied Mahdi and called for a jihad to purge Islam of the infidel and rout the foreign forces from Sudan. His fearsome reputation as a violent anti-colonialist grew over the next three years. The jihad had strong resonance for Fenian opponents of the British regime in Ireland. If 'England is engaged in a great war that will strain her resources to the utmost', wrote James O'Kelly to Michael Davitt, 'seizing some critical moment [if we] attack her with all our power... we help ourselves by promoting the long wished for "opportunity".' There was much at stake; according to the Victorian domino theory, Irish demands for Home Rule constituted the beginning of the disintegration of the empire. The mantra, that Britain's pain was Ireland's gain, was given powerful visual expression by O'Kelly. This work is part of a unique series of paintings and illustrations of these events. Most war artists acted, in effect, as public relations personnel for Britain's colonial projects overseas. O'Kelly's decision to cover the colonial war from behind the battle lines of Britain's enemy was thus an act of remarkable audacity. O'Kelly painted many scenes in the Orientalist manner of his master, Jean-Léon Gérôme. But desert skirmishes, such as this, full of colour and movement, gave rise to several virtuoso paintings by O'Kelly that are unusual in that they demonstrate an early application of Impressionist technique to an Orientalist subject, a further indication of O'Kelly's originality. O'Kelly was at his best when adapting an aesthetic subversion to a political one. Professor Niamh O'Sullivan, Dublin, October 2014 Inaugural Curator, Great Hunger Museum, Hamden, Connecticut (USA) and Professor Emeritus of Visual Culture, National College of Art and Design, Dublin, author of Aloysius O'Kelly: Art, Nation, Empire, Field Day Publications, 2010.
Whyte's
Nov. 24, 2014
Aloysius C. O’Kelly (1853-1936) MOTHER AND CHILD
Est: €2,000 - €3,000
Aloysius C. O'Kelly (1853-1936) MOTHER AND CHILD oil on canvas h:16 w:12 in. Provenance: Family of the artist O'Kelly loved painting children and did so throughout his artistic career. Charming Irish, English, French, North African and American children recur in his work. There are thus examples in all phases and styles of his long career, executed in a Realist mode in Ireland and England, Naturalist in France and America and Orientalist in North Africa. Many include a maternal figure, sitting by a window and engrossed in sewing, knitting or tatting. This painting would appear to be an early work, before he came under the influence of Jules Bastien-Lepage in Brittany in the early 1880s. Professor Niamh O'Sullivan, Dublin, October 2014 Inaugural Curator, Great Hunger Museum, Hamden, Connecticut (USA) and Professor Emeritus of Visual Culture, National College of Art and Design, Dublin, author of Aloysius O'Kelly: Art, Nation, Empire, Field Day Publications, 2010.
Whyte's
Oct. 23, 2014
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY, Irish/American (1851-1928), Boats in a Harbor, oil on panel, signed lower right, inscribed and dated 1914 on the r...
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY Irish/American (1851-1928) Boats in a Harbor oil on panel, signed lower right, inscribed and dated 1914 on the reverse. 9 1/2 x 12 1/4 Provenance: Private collection, Boston, Massachusetts.
Shannon's
Oct. 23, 2014
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY, Irish/American (1851-1928), Activities at the Docks, oil on panel, signed lower right, inscribed and dated 1914 on..
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
ALOYSIUS O'KELLY Irish/American (1851-1928) Activities at the Docks oil on panel, signed lower right, inscribed and dated 1914 on the reverse. 9 1/2 x 12 1/4 Provenance: Private collection, Boston, Massachusetts.
Shannon's
Oct. 01, 2014
Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936) On the Sheepscott
Est: €1,200 - €1,600
Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936) On the Sheepscott River, Maine Oil on canvas, 38 x 53.4cm (15 x 21'') Signed Provenance: John P. Reihill, Deepwell, Blackrock, Co. Dublin Although originally thought to be a work from Brittany this work is likely to be a view on the Sheepscott River Maine. A number of O'Kelly characteristics may be discerned, most notably sinuous, almost stylised dark shadows as they appear beneath the tree in the foreground and the use of pale blue to describe the hazy distance.
Adam's
May. 28, 2014
Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936) The Market Place,
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936) The Market Place, Tangier Oil on canvas, 32 x 37cm (12½ x 14½'') Signed and indistinctly inscribed 'Tangier' Provenance: Previously in the collection of John Duggan Exhibited: • Museum of Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (detail; untraced); ' • Aloysius O'Kelly - Re-Orientations: Paintings, Politics and Popular Culture', Hugh Lane Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, 25 November 1999 - 30 January 2000, catalogue no. 35 Aloysius O'Kelly studied with the quintessential orientalist, Jean-Leon Gerome, in the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, in the mid 1870's. Although O'Kelly's ethnographic realism bears a close resemblance to that of his master, the concept of an Irish orientalist, especially one so militantly republican as O'Kelly, makes very interesting viewing. By representing oriental societies as backward or 'other', many orientalist painters became the spindoctors of the imperial project. But no such patronisation is evident in the work of O'Kelly. This painting is concerned with the daily lives of the citizens of Tangier. The informality of poses and the style of painting is looser and more expressionistic than that normally associated with orientalist art. France, recognising its strategic importance and economic potential, penetrated Morocco in 1844. Although ultimately obliged to accept the territorial integrity of the country, and agree to equal trade for all, France continued to press her own advantage. One of the areas where it encountered most resistance was from the tribesmen of the Riff Mountains in the north. In so far as Market Place Tangier is stylistically close to O'Kelly's critically well-received painting, ''The Musician'', set in the Riff Mountains, it is clear from these, and other titles, that he spent a considerable period of time in Morocco in the late nineteenth century. Dr Niamh O'Sullivan
Adam's
May. 28, 2014
Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936) Boats at Concarneau
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936) Boats at Concarneau Oil on board, 24 x 33cm (9½ x 13'') Signed Provenance: John P. Reihill, Deepwell, Blackrock, Co. Dublin
Adam's
Mar. 29, 2014
Aloysius C. O'Kelly painting of the East River
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
Aloysius C. O'Kelly, 1851-1928, Ireland/NY, important oil on canvas painting , "The East River," NY, depicting tug boats and sailboats working their trade with the Queensborough, Bridge in the background, looking north after 1908 when the bridge was completed, 22" x 29", set in an old molded gold frame. Comes with an illustrated catalog of his works, which includes this painting, page 66. Also a copy of the Irish Arts Review, where this painting was featured. Provenance: A private New York collection. This painting was exhibited in the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, Dublin Ireland in 1999.
The Cobbs
Nov. 25, 2013
Aloysius C. O’Kelly (1853-1936) BRETON WOMEN IN A KITCHEN, 1905
Est: €25,000 - €35,000
signed and dated lower right; with Ludwig Katzenstein Fine Art label [Baltimore] on reverse
Whyte's
Nov. 12, 2013
Aloysius O'Kelly Boats Outside Concarneau, France
Est: €2,000 - €2,500
Aloysius O'Kelly Boats Outside Concarneau, France Oil on Canvas 9" x 12"
Gormleys Art Auctions
Nov. 12, 2013
Aloysius O'Kelly Landscape with Trees in Foreground
Est: €1,200 - €1,800
Aloysius O'Kelly Landscape with Trees in Foreground Watercolour 9" x 7.5"
Gormleys Art Auctions
Nov. 12, 2013
Aloysius O'Kelly River in Landscape with Trees
Est: €1,000 - €1,500
Aloysius O'Kelly River in Landscape with Trees Oil on Board 10" x 14"
Gormleys Art Auctions
Nov. 12, 2013
Aloysius O'Kelly Boats at Concarneau,France
Est: €1,000 - €1,500
Aloysius O'Kelly Boats at Concarneau,France Oil on Board 9" x 13"
Gormleys Art Auctions
Nov. 12, 2013
Colin Davidson - Female Nude Study
Est: €3,000 - €3,500
Colin Davidson Female Nude Study
Gormleys Art Auctions