Dramatic Blackshaw Up For Auction

A dramatic equestrian oil by Basil Blackshaw, thought to depict show jumper Paul Darragh in full flight, comes for sale in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex next month.


A dramatic equestrian oil by Basil Blackshaw, thought to depict show jumper Paul Darragh in full flight, comes for sale in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex next month. The 50 x 60cm signed oil on board signed by one of Ireland’s most celebrated horse painters is expected to bring £7000-10,000 at Sworders on April 30. 

As the son of a trainer who rode from an early age, Blacksaw (1932-2016) had an intimate knowledge of horses, and he returned to the subject time and again throughout his career. 

basil blackshaw

In this picture he captures the moment of clearing a fence, the chestnut horse taking to the air, rider braced forward over its neck. The subject is thought to be the show jumper Paul Darragh (1953-2005). Darragh was on the winning team in the Aga Khan three years in a row from 1977 to 1979 riding the mare Heather Honey. 

Confidently worked with the paint thinly and deftly applied and the raw board showing through in places, it was quite probably a commission completed in the 1970s. Eamonn Mallie, Basil Blackshaw's biographer, has assisted in the cataloguing of the lot. 

The popularity of Blackshaw’s work at auction has increased in recent years (pictures have made over £100,000) marking him among Ireland’s most celebrated artists of the last century. 

 

 


 

Recent News

 

Ken Bolan | Nature Follows Form

Few figures in the art and antiques world have shaped taste and defied convention quite like Ken Bolan. From the glamour of continental showrooms to the quiet beauty of rewilded West Country landscapes, Ken’s journey has been one of bold vision and creative instinct. This landmark sale, to be held on Wednesday 24 September, opens a window into that world – a personal collection amassed over five decades, filled with sculpture, furniture, and design with soul and story.

7 July 2025

John Ruskin | A Remarkable Archive Comes to Auction at Sworders

A major highlight of our forthcoming 'DREAMS | A Unique Private Collection' sale on 9 July is a remarkable archive of letters and manuscripts by John Ruskin (1819–1900), the celebrated Victorian polymath. This unparalleled group – numbering in the hundreds – is believed to be the largest collection of Ruskin correspondence in private hands and spans a vast range of topics from art and architecture to politics, religion, and personal reflection.

2 July 2025

Valuation Day Discovery

'The Scented Garden of Abdullah the Satirist of Shiraz' - also known as 'The Bagh-i-Muattar' - quickly caught the attention of our book specialists, when a copy bound in full vellum was brought in by a local client to our weekly valuation day.

2 July 2025

 


 

Get Sworders News