Roderic O'Conor (Irish 1860-1940)

Roderic O'Conor (Irish 1860-1940)

Seated nude

Stamped with studio stamp atelier/O'CONOR (to reverse)

Oil on canvas

65.3 x 54.8cm

Provenance:

Studio of the artist;

Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Vente O'Conor, 7 February 1956;

M. and Mmme. Lemasse, Paris;

Christie's, Belfast Castle, Fine Irish Paintings and Drawings, 31 May 1989, no.570;

Sotheby's, London, 2 May 1990, no.25;

Jonathan Riley, from whom purchased by the present private collector, 1994

Literature:

Jonathan Benington, Roderic O'Conor, a Biography with a Catalogue of his Work (Dublin, 1992), p.217, no.230

The present work was painted around 1921-22, and encapsulates the serenity and refinement that typify Roderic O'Conor's most successful nudes. A young woman is portrayed in peaceful repose, with her head cradled upon her encircled arms. Painted spontaneously, probably in a single sitting, the work exemplifies the artist's qualities and painterly techniques of that period.