GERARD DILLON RHA RUA (1916 - 1971)

Title: A Flower for my Sweetheart (C. 1960) Medium: Watercolour, Gouache and Ink on paper Signature: Signed Lower Left Provenance: Private Collection Notes: This work belongs to a series of works by Dillon during his extended visits to Galway and the West of Ireland in the 1960s, focusing on the motif of Pierrot, who acted as an alter ego for the artist. This series included Hole in the Hill (C. 1960), The Unassuming (1967) and Encounter (1968). Framed Lot Description: Gerard Dillon’s A Flower for My Sweetheart (1960) is a whimsical yet deeply emotional tableau set in the dreamlike hills of Connemara, a region that served as both sanctuary and inspiration throughout his career. Painted at a time when Dillon was increasingly turning inward—grappling with his identity, health struggles, and a growing sense of detachment from the modern world—the work reflects his retreat into a realm of fantasy and symbolism. At its heart stands a Harlequin, a figure Dillon frequently used as a stand-in for himself: the romantic outsider and masked performer, offering a radiant, sunflower-like bloom to a still, enigmatic woman. She stands quietly among the rippling green-and-yellow hills, as if she is part of the land itself. The theatrical striping of the fields transforms Connemara into a surreal stage, a place of inner drama and emotional honesty. Overhead, a crimson sky intensifies the tension between joy and melancholy. Painted two years before the death of his beloved brother, this work captures a moment suspended between innocence and sorrow, where love becomes both a gesture of hope and a shield against the encroaching darkness of solitude. Image: 10 x 17.5 cm. (approx) Framed: 27 x 34.5 cm. PICTURES AND PRINTS Tuesday 16th September 2025 20:59:10 Biography GERARD DILLON RHA RUA (1916 - 1971) Gerard Dillon was a leading Irish painter known for his poetic, imaginative depictions of Irish life, often infused with surreal or symbolic elements. Born in Belfast, he spent time living and working in Connemara and Dublin. His naïve but deeply expressive visual language was admired in both modernist and nationalist circles. Dillon exhibited widely, including with the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, and his works are represented in all major Irish public collections.