A Knitting Shepherdess is coming up for sale in Adam’s Important Irish Art Auction The Music Teacher by Gerard Dillon Adam’s A Knitting Shepherdess was painted in 1880 by Carlow artist Frank O’Meara in Grez, France. The painting is coming up for sale in Adam’s Important Irish Art Auction on September 29 (Lot 64: est. €10,000 to €15,000).
O’Meara is a well-known artist but died young and his paintings are rare. This one has spent the last few decades in a private collection in Ireland, enjoyed by its owners but unknown to art historians who are excited about its “rediscovery”. There may be another one out there somewhere.
The painting is almost — but not quite — complete. The sheep are missing. It’s Little Bo Peep come to life! Six years later, O’Meara painted the same model, also without sheep.
His sketchbook of the time shows drawings of a ewe — but they never made it into a painting. Since O’Meara generally painted several versions of his major works, before being satisfied, it’s possible that another completed canvas exists, just waiting to be found. The Music Teacher by Gerard Dillon Big ticket items in the sale include paintings by Paul Henry (Lot 18: est.
€120,000 to €160,000), Jack B Yeats (Lot 42: est. €40,000 to €60,000); and The Music Teacher (lot 83, Est €20,000 to €30,000) by Gerard Dillon. See adams.
ie Morgan O’Driscoll Beautiful Together , a one-off silkscreen by Mr Brainwash (est. €7,000 to €9,000) sold .