DUBLIN.- Whyte’s autumn auction of Irish & International Art on 26 September will include a wonderful array from the Estate of George & Maura McClelland [Lots 1-78]. The husband and wife gallerists and collectors made their mark on the art scene from the mid 1960s when they opened the McClelland Galleries in Belfast exhibiting a wide range of contemporary Irish as well as international art. The pair were both agents and friends to their artists and provided opportunity and support particularly to Irish talent. Among the many artists they exhibited in Belfast were Colin Middleton, William Conor, Gerard Dillon and Louis le Brocquy. All represented in Whyte’s sale. In 1975 during the political unrest in the Northern Ireland – during which their premises were bombed - they relocated to Dublin and later divided their time between Kerry, London and the Isle of Man. George McClelland was instrumental in bringing the works of Tony O’Malley to the attention of the Irish collectors in the early 1980s and secured him an Arts Council Travelling Exhibition as well as introducing him to the Taylor Gallery where he exhibited until his death.

The McClelland Collection (over 400 works) was on loan to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin from 1999 to 2004. During this time four unique exhibitions were drawn from the collection and some individual works featured in many of IMMA’s group shows. The collection included some of the finest examples from the oeuvres of Gerard Dillon, Tony O’Malley, Louis le Brocquy, F.E. McWilliam, Jack Yeats, Colin Middleton, William Conor, Frank McKelvey, William Leech and many others. 170 works donated from the McClelland’s now form part of IMMA’s permanent collection. In 2004 IMMA launched ‘The Hunter Gatherer’ - a publication dedicated to the history of the McClelland collection – which coincided with a series of exhibitions drawn from loan.
Some of those examples exhibited at IMMA and included in ‘The Hunter Gatherer’ publication will now appear on the market for the first time with Whyte’s. With estimates from €2,000 to €150,000 the variety in terms of budget and tastes will attract many bidders this autumn and provide an exceptional opportunity to acquire from a judicious, thoughtful and celebrated collection which has already received the hallmark of approval from Ireland’s Museum of Modern Art.

The top lot by value in the auction is F.E. McWilliam’s Matriarch, 1935 (Lot 50 €100,000-€150,000 (£85,470-£128,210 approx.) a unique piece in cheerywood sculpted at a time when McWilliam was heavily influenced by his friend Henry Moore. Highly collectible and rare this work is sure to attract attention both in Ireland and from astute international buyers. Other examples, at more modest guides, in bronze, and rare studies from his 1970s Women of Belfast Series, will be included.

The scope and variety available to collectors of Tony O’Malley’s work in this auction is unequalled. Spanning three decades it ranges from works on paper, to collage, oils on canvas, board and wood to hitherto unseen examples in tapestry. Guides range from €1,000 to €50,000 among the 19 works offered. The sought-after Bahamian inspired works dominate and the top lot by value is Morning Light II, Paradise Island, Bahamas, 1982 (Lot 53, €30,000-€50,000 (£25,640-£42,740 approx.).

A rare oil from 1939 by Belfast artist Colin Middleton shows the streets of his native city at a time before the Belfast Blitz and a period of personal loss which lead to the destruction of much of his output from this period. Offered as Lot 27 it guides €30,000-€50,000 (£25,640-£42,740 approx.)

Other McClelland highlights include William Conor’s Swimming Gala, Lot 12, €10,000-€15,000 (£8,550-£12,820 approx.), William John Leech, Bowl of Fruit c.1944, Lot 17, €12,000-€15,000 (£10,260-£12,820 approx.), a unique hand-painted stone carving by Gerard Dillon, Nativity, Lot 26, €20,000-€30,000 (£17,090-£25,640 approx.), an Aubusson tapestry Travellers, 1948 by Louis le Brocquy, Lot 47 €60,000-€80,000 (£51,280-£68,380 approx.). Two wonderful ceramic pieces [Lots 77 & 78] by Austrian born British artist Dame Lucie Rie - whose studio is recreated in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum - guide €10,000-€15,000 (£8,550-£12,820 approx.) each.

The balance of the sale [a further 102 lots] includes several other major works by Ireland’s best-known artists. A striking oil by Jack Butler Yeats, Singing ‘Under The Canopy of Heaven’, 1950, Lot 95, €90,000-€120,000 (£76,920-£102,560 approx.). Ulster artist Daniel O’Neill (who also benefited from McClelland’s patronage) features with a charming oil Lot 98, €30,000-€40,000 (£25,640-£34,190 approx.). Paul Henry, whose appeal at auction is unwavering, features with an early charcoal Portrait of an Elderly Lady, Lot 80 €10,000-€15,000 (£8,550-£12,820 approx.) and a previously untraced oil guiding in the same region. A charming scene, Girl Feeding Calves, by Walter Osborne, Lot 81, guides €18,000-€22,000 (£15,380-£18,800 approx.) while a Parisian scene from the 1930s [Lot 89] by Harry Kernoff commands €15,000-€20,000 (£12,820-£17,090 approx.).