Louis le Brocquy

Louis le Brocquy, (b. 1916)
The Dublin-born artist Louis le Brocquy is recognised both in Ireland and around the world as the foremost living figure in the history of Irish art of the 20th century. A master of painting (in figurative and abstract genres), illustration, printmaking, tapestry design and set design, his prodigious work has received widespread international praise during a career spanning seventy years. Awarded the Premio Acquisito Internationale for his painting A Family, which was later included in the historic exhibition 'Fifty Years of Modern Art' at Brussels, World Fair 1958, le Brocquy is widely acclaimed for his series of Heads portraits of literary figures and fellow artists, which include William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, and his friends Samuel Beckett, Francis Bacon and Seamus Heaney. See also: Most Expensive Irish Paintings.

A Torso (1964)
In addition, his earlier Tinker subjects and Grey period pictures have attracted enormous attention in the international and Irish art market, propelling him into the top group of four modern painters of Ireland and Britain along with Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and David Hockney. At home, Le Brocquy is the only living painter to be included in the Permanent Irish Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland.
Le Brocquy first studied chemistry at Trinity College, Dublin, before entering the family business in 1934. Four years later, he left Ireland for two years to study paintings by the great masters in the National Gallery (London), the Louvre Museum (Paris), Venice and Geneva. He returned to Ireland in 1940, to begin a career as a self-taught artist. Along with other contemporary Irish artists, such as Mainie Jellett, Evie Hone, Nora McGuiness and others, he was a founder-member of the Irish Exhibition of Living Art in 1943. Three years later, in 1946, he moved to London where he had his first solo exhibition in 1947. In 1958, he married another Irish artist, Anne Madden, and settled in the south of France.
A Family (1951), one of le Brocquy'smost important works, sold recentlyfor €2.75 million, was awarded a major prize at the Venice Biennale in 1956& hung in the exhibition 50 Ans d'ArtModerne in 1958 at the World Fair inBrussels, alongside paintings byCézanne and Matisse. Was the firstwork by a living artist to be acquiredby the National Gallery of Ireland.
Le Brocquy's prodigious painting career has included seven overlapping periods: his Tinker paintings 1946-1948; his Grey Period 1950-1956; his White Period 1956-1966; his Head Series 1964-2006; his Procession Series 1984-1992; his Human Images 1996-2004; and latterly his Homage Paintings 2005-2006, which commemorate some of his favourite predecessors such as Velazquez, Francisco de Goya, Paul Cézanne and Edouart Manet.
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Today, Le Brocquy is acclaimed as simply the most creative artist in the world of visual art in Ireland. His works have been shown in museums across North America, Japan, Australia, France, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia and Mexico, and have been the subject of retrospectives in a number of major galleries, including the Irish Museum of Modern Art (1966). His paintings are represented in many public collections, such as New York's Guggenheim Museum and the London Tate.
Image Of James Joyce (1978), one ofLe Brocquy's Heads series, whichincludes: Image of WB Yeats (1975),Image of Federico Garcia Lorca (1977),Image of Francis Bacon (1979),Image of Samuel Beckett (1979),Image of Pablo Picasso (1979).
Le Brocquy is an elected Saoi of Aosdana, and in 2007, he was conferred with The Freedom of the City of Dublin, the highest award the City can bestow. He lives and works in Dublin.