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Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936)Figures in a Cottage InteriorOil on canvas, 72 x 61cm (28¼ x 24'')Provenance: From the collection of the late Gillian Bowler.Although originally catalogued by Christie’s in May 1989 as being by Augustus Burke, this unsigned painting features the same girl, probably in the same kitchen, as O’Kelly’s unfinished Kitchen, West of Ireland, painted in the early 1880s, the seated woman, barely blocked-in in the latter, being perhaps the older woman in this painting.At the time, O’Kelly was living in Lugnanaugh in a cottage nestled below Maol Chnoc or Garraun Mountain which rises above Lough Fee on the Kylemore estate of Mitchell Henry, the Home Rule MP. On his departure in 1884, O’Kelly left behind many unfinished works.Burke was in the west of Ireland around the same time as O’Kelly, but the subject, location and style would indicate that O’Kelly was the artist. The painting is probably a preliminary sketch for a larger work. The older woman in mid conversation, and the younger immersed in her own sad thoughts, suggest a narrative, not evident in this fragment.See Niamh O’Sullivan, Aloysius O’Kelly: Art, Nation, Empire, Field Day, 2010.Niamh O’Sullivan