Kieran O'Boyle
Head of Ireland & Northen Ireland
Lot 41
Francis William Doyle-Jones(British, 1873-1938)Bust of Michael Collins 48.2 cm. (19 in.) high
17 – 28 November 2023, 14:00 GMT
DublinSold for €5,632 inc. premium
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Kevin Gaines
Senior Client Liaison
Penny Day
Head of UK and Ireland
Francis William Doyle-Jones (British, 1873-1938)
Bust of Michael Collins
signed and dated 'Doyle Jones 1921' (on the side of the base)
painted plaster
48.2 cm. (19 in.) high
signed and dated 'Doyle Jones 1921' (on the side of the base)
painted plaster
48.2 cm. (19 in.) high
Footnotes
Provenance
The Artist, from whom gifted to a friend
Thence by descent
Private Collection, Ireland
Francis William Doyle-Jones was born in 1873 in West Hartlepool, Co. Durham, of Irish parents. He studied sculpture under the tuition of Edouard Lanteri (1848–1917) and established a studio in Chelsea, London, where he specialised in portrait busts, bas-reliefs and heads. He undertook many commissions in Ireland, demonstrating a knowledge of Irish political and cultural affairs, including memorials to John Mandeville, Archbishop Thomas Croke and the Very Rev. Canon P.A. Sheehan. He is also responsible for the enormous granite statue of St. Patrick at Saul, Co. Down which took three years to complete and was unveiled in June 1938.
He first exhibited with the R.H.A. with a bronze bust of Michael Collins in 1923, the year following Collin's death, and the National Gallery of Ireland purchased the work in 1924. The plaster bust in this lot is dated 1919 and very similar to the N.G.I. bronze, which may have been cast from it. Certainly, Doyle Jones's portrayal of Collins is a very successful likeness and remains an influence on the numerous subsequent portrayals of Collins in the 100 years since.