Lot 12 Norah McGuinness HERRON'S BAY

Norah McGuinness HRHA, 1901-1980
HERRON'S BAY
Oil on canvas, 18" x 26" (45.7 x 66cm), signed; inscribed verso.

Provenance: Dawson Gallery, Dublin (label verso); Taylor deVeres, Dublin, 29 May 1990, no. 55; Whytes, Important Irish & British Art, 17 Sept 2007, no. 47; Private Collection.

Norah McGuinness, one of Irelands leading proponents of Modernism in the mid-twentieth century, is known for her energetic compositions, where nature is simplified into bold abstract shapes contained within a confident linear structure.

In Herons Bay she has softened Cubism, making it compatible with the Irish countryside and its cocks of hay and meandering fields. The compact curvilinear composition fits together with interlocking shapes, having the satisfying effect of feeling just right, with all the parts working in unison. McGuinness finds patterns in nature, repeating shapes so that paintings like this one have an underlying beat or rhythm. Notice how the beat of the haycocks is echoed in the foreground rocks, and how both work as a visually satisfying counterpoint to the big swirling pool that dominates the painting. McGuinness has taken a normally modest scene and has turned it into a painting with undeniable forcefulness.

Dr Frances Ruane. HRHA

October 2024