Hughie O'Donoghue

Catalogue colour comparison: The colours are slightly warmer than the illustration suggests. Structure: The canvas has been printed with carborundum and is laid down on board. There is a fine line of surface craquelure in the upper left corner and in the centre of the bottom edge otherwise in good overall condition. Under ultraviolet light, there appear to be no signs of retouching. Held in a stained wood box frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present work relates to an important theme in the artist's oeuvre exploring the nature of war and refers specifically to his father Daniel's experiences during World War II and crucially, his retreat from France through the port of Cherbourg in June 1940 after the evacuation of Dunkirk.  Getting out at Cherbourg is a smaller version of a large-scale oil with the same title (1996, 76 by 86in.) and 'brings together the images of a ship sailing away and a malevolent dark smear of carborundum. This was splashed on to the paint and the print as a response to Daniel being spat at by French civilians as his column of troops boarded the last ship to leave Cherbourg' (J.Hamilton, Hughie O'Donoghue, Painting, Memory, Myth, London 2003, p.27). The work belongs to a series entitled The Fall of France which includes other similarly intensely worked images such as A Line of Retreat (1998) and Incident near Huppy (1999-2002). 

O'Donoghue's work from the series was the subject of a group of highly acclaimed exhibitions entitled A Line of Retreat held in 1997 at the Purdy Hicks Gallery, London; Rubicon Gallery, Dublin; Galerie Helmut Pabst, Frankfurt and the Galerie Karl Pfefferle, Munich. The artist has also had numerous important solo exhibitions at galleries such as the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge and the Imperial War Museum, London.