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Lot Essay
Dorothy Walker (op. cit., p. 29) explains how the early series of tapestries by le Brocquy came about: 'Parallel to his central interest in painting, le Brocquy had also developed an interest in tapestry and graphic design. In 1948, Edinburgh Tapestry Weavers, an ancient industry under the patronage of the then Marquess of Bute, invited a number of painters, working in London, to design tapestries. The artists included Stanley Spencer, Jankel Adler, Graham Sutherland and Louis le Brocquy, who later continued his work in this medium in collaboration with the Tabard workshop at Aubusson in France. His first tapestry continued his preoccupation with the travelling people: 'Travellers 1948' was exhibited originally by the Arts Council in London in 1950 ... The second is one of le Brocquy's best known tapestries, 'Garlanded Goat' of 1949-50. The goat is the embodiment of the pagan, leering King Puck, hero of the ancient Puck Fair at Killorglin, Co. Kerry'.
'The third tapestry of this period Allegory is almost contemporary with the painting A Family, but is very different in mood and feeling. The harlequin pattern and the general style of drawing still relate to the celebratory influence of Picasso, but the colour range is particular to le Brocquy. The background structure of enclosing planes adds to the theatrical character of the theme, setting the scene, as it were. Such a structure is unique in the tapestries, but leads into the more enclosed spaces of the 'grey period' paintings of the early 1950s, such as A Family, 1951; Child in a Dark Room, 1953; Child and Dog in a Room, 1953; and Child in a Yard, 1954' (Louis le Brocquy Tapestries, catalogue for the exhibition at the Taylor Galleries, Dublin, November 2000).
'The third tapestry of this period Allegory is almost contemporary with the painting A Family, but is very different in mood and feeling. The harlequin pattern and the general style of drawing still relate to the celebratory influence of Picasso, but the colour range is particular to le Brocquy. The background structure of enclosing planes adds to the theatrical character of the theme, setting the scene, as it were. Such a structure is unique in the tapestries, but leads into the more enclosed spaces of the 'grey period' paintings of the early 1950s, such as A Family, 1951; Child in a Dark Room, 1953; Child and Dog in a Room, 1953; and Child in a Yard, 1954' (Louis le Brocquy Tapestries, catalogue for the exhibition at the Taylor Galleries, Dublin, November 2000).