Lot 91: Augustus Nicholas Burke RHA (1838-1891) Farmyard

Augustus Nicholas Burke RHA (1838-1891) Farmyard in Brittany Oil on canvas, 30.5 x 43cm (12 x 17") Signed with monogram Exhibited "The Irish Impressionists" exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Oct-Nov 1984 (Cat. No. 33) & The Ulster Museum Belfast, Feb-Mar 1985 Julian Campbell wrote of this work in "The Irish Impressionists": "This could be a A Breton Farmyard exhibited RHA, 1887, (35), and at the Guildhall in London in 1904, (10), and mentioned by Strickland (Vol. 1 p.127) as being in the collection of Dr. C.E. Fitzgerald of Upper Merrion Street. An attractive scene of a farmyard in sunlight, it is quite modern for the 1870's combining a characteristic interest in detail with crisp brushwork and rich colouring: for example, the rusty red of the hens contrasted with the greenery against the wall. Sadly, Burke did not seem to develop in this direction, and his tonality became more sombre after he returned to Ireland. Burke's influence on his students such as Osborne and Kavanagh is evident in his cho ice of such domestic subjects and titles (e.g. A Breton Farmyard, On the Apple Tree, Brittany and A November Evening)"