Irish & International Art Auction 5th December 2016 : Click Lot Title for More info & Pictures & Picture for in frame.

75 / 137

Irish & International Art Auction
Monday 5th December 2016 at 6.00pm
75
signed lower right, signed & titled on reverse
oil on canvas
51 x 61cm (20 x 24in)
Provenance: Eastwood Gallery, Belfast;
Private Collection
€10,000-15,000 (£8,695-13,043)
Basil Blackshaw was born in Glengormley, Co. Antrim in 1932 and died in May 2016. He was educated in Belfast and graduated
from the Belfast College of Art in 1951. Blackshaw’s work remained dedicated to very Irish and often rural themes, gaining him
the title ‘poet of the rural’. The artist found inspiration in the environment around him and his art is reminiscent of his upbringing;
of breeding dogs, cock-fighting and of his father’s work as a horse trainer. In addition, he is also known for his nudes, portraits and
landscapes. Blackshaw is recognised for his traditional approach to painting, though combined with his signature loose gestural
application of paint and a very distinctive and subtle use of colour, the finished piece is often considered to be abstract. Blackshaw
has said that he aims to convey a ‘feeling’ through his art by using the subject matter to evoke a sensation in the viewer. In 1977
Blackshaw was elected as an associate of the Royal Ulster Academy of the Arts and in 1981 was elected an Academician. Blackshaw
received the Glen Dimplex Award for a Sustained Contribution to the Visual Arts in Ireland in 2001.