Roderic O'Conor (Irish, 1860-1940) Portrait of a lady 16 x 19 cm. (6 1/4 x 7 1/2 in.)

Roderic O'Conor (Irish, 1860-1940) Portrait of a lady pastel, pen and ink 16 x 19 cm. (6 1/4 x 7 1/2 in.) Footnotes: Provenance Rene Honta O'Conor, from whom bequeathed to Mme. Henri Bellard, from whom acquired by Dr. Robelet, Brittany Sale; Thierry-Lannon, France, circa 2008, where acquired by the present owner Private Collection, Ireland Roderic O'Conor is one of the most distinctive Irish artists of the twentieth century having lived for most of his life in France where he was exposed to many of the avant-garde developments of the time that had yet to reach Irish shores. He studied art at the Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Antwerp before moving to Paris to study with Carolus Duran. Eager to become involved with the latest movements in modern painting he moved to the artists' colony at Grez-sur-Loing in the vicinity of Fontainebleau. During the 1890's he became involved with the artists of the Pont Aven School who were presided over by Paul Gauguin, and it was during this period that he first explored the medium of etching and drypoint under the mentorship of his friend Armand Séguin and produced works that are notable for their expressive quality with dramatic and fluid lines. O'Conor's early landscapes were influenced by the Impressionists, particularly Alfred Sisley and Claude Monet but with Gauguin's encouragement, he began to explore surface rhythms in his paintings with the use of simple forms and strong colour. His later works from Brittany were more reserved in character but he still produced some vigorous and expressionistic works such as his series of coastal landscapes painted in 1898. In 1904 he moved to Paris where he concentrated mostly on still life's, portraits, and nudes and experimented with a variety of techniques. Works by Roderic O'Conor can now be found in galleries and museums worldwide including the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Hermitage in Leningrad, the Tate Gallery in London, and the National Gallery of Art in Dublin. In 1956, after the death of his wife Renée Honta, the contents of O'Conor's studio consisting of a large number of his own paintings and drawings as well as works by other artists that he had collected were dispersed at auction in Paris with many of his works being purchased by the gallery Roland, Browse and Delbanco in London. At the time as he wasn't considered to be a notable artist many of his works were batched together for sale and his works on paper stamped with a studio stamp 'atelier O'Conor' as can be seen in lot no. 50 Portrait in Blue. We are grateful to Jon Benington for his assistance in cataloguing this work. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing