Early Morning, Cliffony (1941), a 9 x 14in (23 x 36cm) oil on panel depicting the countryside near the coastal Sligo town of Cliffony, had been described by poet Thomas MacGreevy in 1942 as a “small gem of pure landscape”. Against a tempting €25,000-35,000 estimate, it sold to a new private client based in Dublin for €70,000 (£60,900).
Prices for Dublin-born artist Louis le Brocquy (1916-2012) took a hammering after the economic downturn that started in 2008 but have more recently begun to recover. An example was Fan Tailed Pigeons, a 15 x 18in (38 x 6cm) oil on canvas executed in his familiar white, blue-grey palette. From the Bowler consignment, it sold just below top estimate at €58,000 (£50,400).
Another strong price was achieved for The Bath, a female nude by Patrick Collins (1911-94). The nude, set into Collins’ trademark blue-grey background, had belonged to The Dubliners’ singer, Luke Kelly, and was acquired privately by Bowler after his death in 1984.
Believed to be the first time the picture had been viewed in public (few top works by Collins have appeared on the market in recent years), the 23½ x 3ft 11in (60cm x 1.2m) oil on panel was snapped up just over estimate by a private buyer for €33,000 (£28,700).
£1 = €1.15
