Two cubist-inspired landscapes by Derry-born modernist Norah McGuinness to go under hammer with estimates between €20,000 and €30,000

Auctioneers and valuers of Irish Art including irish artists such as Jack Butler Yeats, Paul Henry, Sir Walter Osborne, Louis le Brocquy, William Scott, Daniel Oâ€TMNeil, Colin Middleton, Gerard Dillon, Basil Blackshaw, Sir John Lavery, and Irish female artists Mary Swanzy, Mainie Jellett, Norah McGuinness, Evie Hone, Nano Reid and Sarah Purser

‘Flight over Mulroy,’ an oil on canvas, and ‘Sunflowers, Algarve Coast,’ an oil on board, are included in a catalogue from Adam’s Auctioneers of Dublin that will go under the hammer next week.

Both have an estimated starting price of between €20,000 and €30,000 but are likely to fetch higher sums. The Derry painter, who died in 1979, attended the ‘Tech’ in Derry before studying at the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin, under the tutelage of Patrick Tuohy and Harry Clarke.

She is considered a key figure in the Irish modern movement.

According to Dr. Roisin Kennedy, art critic and curator, she is likely to have painted ‘Flight over Mulroy’ while staying at a studio she maintained at Rathmullan from the 1940s.

“Literally taking a bird’s eye view, the painting lays out the contours of the land and sea as seen from above. The shape of the coastline is simplified and the rocks, hills and shrubbery transformed into decorative elements within the flat patterning of the terrain.

“Soaring across this stylised landscape is a gull, its body extended outwards revealing its plumage and making it appear exotic. More detailed and focused than the ground beneath it, the juxtaposition of the bird and the land emphasise the two separate planes that each occupy. In this way McGuinness draws on her extensive understanding of design and her knowledge of cubism,” Dr. Kennedy observes in notes accompanying the lot.

The second painting ‘Sunflowers, Algarve Coast’ orginates from a trip McGuinness made to Portugal in 1961.

“This colourful work takes in a panoramic view of the Portuguese coastline dominated by a castellated hilltop town with whitewashed walls in the distance. To its left the Sierra is made of strange conical mountains.

“In the foreground a peasant woman, wearing traditional black and a large hat, carries a basket. The figure emphasises the timeworn nature of everyday life in Portugal, confirming a touristic idea of the country as remote and untouched by modernity.

“By contrast, below on the yellow sands of a cliff lined beach, the tiny figures of sun-bathers and holidaymakers are visible.

“The dried out form of a large sunflower dominates the left-hand foreground,” according to Dr. Kennedy.

Both paintings, influenced by the cubist movement of the early 20th century, will be auctioned by Adam’s next Wednesday at https://www.adams.ie/