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I
rish
& I
nternational
A
rt
A
uction
M
onday
5
th
D
ecember
2016
at
6.00
pm
27
25 John Brian Vallely (b.1941) The Five Musicianssigned lower right
oil on canvas
51 x 76.25cm (20 x 30in)
Provenance:
Private Collection
€15,000-20,000 (£13,043-17,391)
John Brian Vallely, a painter and musician, was born in 1941 into a Co. Armagh family who had a strong cultural involvement in
sport and language which strongly influenced his artistry. He studied at the Belfast College of Art from 1959 where he was taught by
Tom Carr and later furthered his studies at The Edinburgh Art College. His earliest achievement saw eight of his works purchased
for the Irish display at the 1963 World Fair in New York. In 1968 The Irish Times regarded him as “one of the more exciting Irish
painters”. The greater theme in his work is Traditional Music, another significant dimension is sport, and there are lesser tropes
around aspects of culture such as mythology, history and customs.