Robert Ballagh
Roderic Knowles has written of the artist: "[Ballagh is] recognised for his imaginative and hyperealistic renderings of well known literary, historical or establishment figures
He represented Ireland at the Paris Biennale 1969 and soon became one of Ireland's most reputed painters. In the evolution of his art, in moving from abstraction to figuration, 'he introduced the figure first as a silhouette or 'cut-out', then as a painted figure (as in his pastiches of Goya, Delacroix, Poussin or Ingres) heavily outlined', Cyril Barrett writes
Other features of his work should be noted: his social commitment, which shows itself in his humour and wit, parody and pastiche and social comment, and his quite shameless literary and artistic allusions" (Roderic Knowles, Contemporary Irish Art: A Documentation, Wolfhound Press, Dublin, 1982, p.216).
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'MY STUDIO 1969'
- Price Realised: 96,000
- Sale: 17 February 2004
- oil and acrylic on canvas
- 183 by 244cm., 72 by 96in.
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'JOHN B. KEANE (1993)'
- Price Realised: 36,000
- Sale: 02 March 2009
- oil on canvas
- 168 by 92cm., 66 by 36.25in.
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'CHILD WITH AN ANDY WARHOL, 1973'
- Price Realised: 26,000
- Sale: 25 April 2006
- signed with initials and dated on reverse
- 183 by 122cm., 72 by 48in.
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'THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES: 1789 FRANCE, 1989 IRELAND'
- Price Realised: 20,000
- Sale: 28 April 2008
- acrylic and oil on canvas
- 84 by 48cm., 33 by 19in.
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'THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF TRISTRAM SHANDY, GENTLEMAN'
- Price Realised: 20,000
- Sale: 22 February 2005
- oil and acrylic on canvas (a polyptych in nine parts)
- 61 by 434cm., 24 by 171in.
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'PORTRAITS OF THE LEADERS OF THE 1916 RISING (SET OF SEVEN)'
- Price Realised: 18,000
- Sale: 28 November 2011
- pencil
- 33 by 24cm., 13 by 9.5in.
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'THE THIRD OF MAY AFTER GOYA'
- Price Realised: 15,000
- Sale: 25 November 2013
- acrylic on canvas
- 40 by 54in., 100 by 135cm.
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'JAMES CONNOLLY'
- Price Realised: 14,000
- Sale: 21 September 2004
- acrylic on canvas
- 152 by 102cm., 60 by 40in.
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'MAP SERIES, 1965'
- Price Realised: 13,000
- Sale: 26 November 2007
- acrylic on canvas
- 107 by 168cm., 42 by 66in.
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'BURNING MONK, 1968'
- Price Realised: 9,500
- Sale: 14 March 2011
- acrylic on canvas
- 71 by 218cm., 28 by 86in.
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'CATHLEEN'S SUPPER'
- Price Realised: 9,000
- Sale: 27 September 2021
- oil on canvas
- 15Ό x 39½in. (38.74 x 100.33cm)
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'STUDY FOR THIRD OF MAY, AFTER GOYA'
- Price Realised: 8,500
- Sale: 26 April 2005
- gouache over pencil
- 48 by 60cm., 19 by 23.5in.
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'BATTLE OF THE BOGSIDE, PORTRAIT OF BERNADETTE DEVLIN, 1999'
- Price Realised: 8,000
- Sale: 28 November 2011
- oil on canvas laid on board; (lunette)
- 36 by 81cm., 14 by 31.7 5in.
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'BRIAN KING BOX, 1974'
- Price Realised: 5,600
- Sale: 25 February 2008
- mixed media
- 31 by 41cm., 12.2 5 by 16.2 5i
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'STUDY FOR LIBERTY ON THE BARRICADES, 1970'
- Price Realised: 5,200
- Sale: 02 December 2019
- gouache
- 18 x 23½in. (45.72 x 59.69cm)
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'LIBERTY AT THE BARRICADES AFTER DELACROIX, THE THIRD OF MAY AFTER GOYA and THE RAPE OF THE SABINES AFTER DAVID (SET OF THREE)'
- Price Realised: 5,000
- Sale: 29 November 2005
- silkscreen print (no. 1 of 100, no. 1 of 75 and no. 1 of 75 respectively)
- 50 by 64cm., 19.5 by 25in.
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'FIGURE AN WITH ELLSWORTH KELLY, 1972'
- Price Realised: 4,000
- Sale: 14 March 2011
- acrylic vinyl co-polymer emulsion on canvas
- 25 by 33cm., 10 by 13in.
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'GIRL LOOKING AT AN ANDY WARHOL'
- Price Realised: 3,800
- Sale: 21 September 2004
- giclιe print on watercolour paper
- 150 by 102cm., 59 by 40in.
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'LAND AND LANGUAGE, 2001 (COMPLETE SET OF 10)'
- Price Realised: 3,600
- Sale: 29 September 2008
- ten giclιe prints, individually framed (each no. 10 from an edition of 10)
- 21 by 61cm., 8.25 by 24in.
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'STUDY FOR THE 3RD MAY (1970)'
- Price Realised: 3,047
- Sale: 13 March 2001
- gouache on paper
- 65 by 76cm., 25.5 by 30in.
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'LILY HOUSE, BOTANIC GARDENS, 1987'
- Price Realised: 3,000
- Sale: 29 September 2008
- pen and ink
- 34 by 31cm., 13.2 5 by 12.2 5i
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'BLACK AND WHITE'
- Price Realised: 3,000
- Sale: 17 February 2004
- oil on canvas
- 51 by 36cm., 20 by 14in.
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'DOLMEN, 'POL NA BRON', COUNTY CLARE'
- Price Realised: 2,900
- Sale: 30 September 2013
- oil on canvas
- 24 by 48in., 60 by 120cm.
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'TODAY THEY ARE NAILING THIS TERRORIST'
- Price Realised: 2,400
- Sale: 29 November 2010
- oil on canvas
- 26 by 32cm., 10.2 5 by 12.7 5in.
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'FEMALE LANDSCAPE'
- Price Realised: 2,400
- Sale: 27 April 2004
- oil on canvas
- 30 by 18cm., 12 by 7.25in.
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'WHERE IS JOE?, c.1989'
- Price Realised: 2,300
- Sale: 26 February 2018
- oil on canvas
- 14 x 18½in. (35.56 x 46.99cm)
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'LIBERTY AT THE BARRICADES AFTER DELACROIX, THE THIRD OF MAY AFTER GOYA and THE RAPE OF THE SABINES AFTER DAVID, 1973 (SET OF THREE)'
- Price Realised: 2,200
- Sale: 31 May 2010
- silk screen print (artist's proof)
- 48 by 61cm., 19 by 24in.
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'JOE-IN-THE-MIDDLE, 1985'
- Price Realised: 2,000
- Sale: 14 March 2011
- oil on canvas
- 27 by 40cm., 10.7 5 by 15.7 5in.