Roderic O’Conor (1860-1940) – Paysage Breton.
Paysage Breton by the Irish artist Roderic O’Conor (1860-1940) comes up at Bonhams sale of Modern British and Irish Art in London next November 17. The work, which has never before been at auction, marks a change in the O’Conor style. It dates from 1894, the year when O’Conor met and befriended Paul Gauguin. They went with an excursion of artists to the Breton fishing port of Concarneau. There was a fight with local sailors and Gauguin’s ankle was broken. Laid up for two months he still managed to work on monotypes and woodcuts and hold court with fellow artists, including O’Conor, in nearby Pont-Aven. All of O’Conor’s landscapes from that time until his move to Rochefort-en-terre in 1895, are devoted to trees in the open or in woodland settings. The introduction of subtle colour harmonies, sweeping arabesques and painterly brushwork into Paysage Breton are sure signs of the influence of Gauguin. Gauguin invited O’Conor on his second trip to Tahiti, but in the end he did not go, fearing a personality clash and financial concerns. Paysage Breton is estimated at £150,000-200,000.