Lady Beatrice Glenavy
RIVAL MUSICIANS
Lot 16
Price Realised:
€8,000
Estimate:
€7,000 - €10,000
Lady Beatrice Glenavy RHA, 1881-1970
RIVAL MUSICIANS
Oil on canvas, 20" x 24" (50.8 x 61cm), signed with monogram; signed and inscribed verso.
Provenance: Maire MhicAogan and Saoirse MacAodhagain; Private Collection.
Exhibited: RHA, A...
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Lot 16
Lady Beatrice Glenavy
RIVAL MUSICIANS
Lot 16
Lady Beatrice Glenavy
RIVAL MUSICIANS
Estimate:
€7,000 - €10,000
Lady Beatrice Glenavy RHA, 1881-1970
RIVAL MUSICIANS
Oil on canvas, 20" x 24" (50.8 x 61cm), signed with monogram; signed and inscribed verso.
Provenance: Maire MhicAogan and Saoirse MacAodhagain; Private Collection.
Exhibited: RHA, Annual Exhibition, Dublin, 1941, Cat no. 12.
Rival Musicians by Lady Beatrice Glenavy, RHA (1883-1968), evokes a mythical, almost surreal dreamscape of a type commonly seen within her oeuvre. An even-toned Arcadian scene, it features three principal subjects whose disposition and attire suggest a narrative dimension. On the left, seated on the lawn, is an attractive young woman in a pale pink dress, while sitting left of centre is a handsome musician who exudes quiet charisma.
The rival of the title is the Greek god Pan, shown lounging on the grass clutching his namesake pipes. Associated with the wilder aspects of nature, and in keeping with his representation in ancient art, he is depicted with horns and the legs of a goat. All three appear frozen in space, lost in their thoughts, and together they form a triangular shape which reinforces the static quality of the image.
However, Lady Glenavys design sensibility animates this stabilising element with the inclusion of some white doves in flight also providing a colour contrast with the black whippet seated opposite. The broken brushwork, the twisted tree boughs, the dogs curled tail, the spiralling book pages and the diagonal introduced by the central characters crossed leg all lend an air of subtle dynamism to an otherwise still and timeless work.
As a prize-winning art student who studied briefly in Paris in the early 1900s, Beatrice Glenavy was educated at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art (under William Orpen) and the Slade School of Art (under WiIson Steer and Henry Tonks). She also worked for a time at Sarah Pursers An Tr Gloine, and examples from her body of work the storytelling quality of which may reflect her interest in theatre are found in several national collections.
Dr. Susan Campbell
RIVAL MUSICIANS
Oil on canvas, 20" x 24" (50.8 x 61cm), signed with monogram; signed and inscribed verso.
Provenance: Maire MhicAogan and Saoirse MacAodhagain; Private Collection.
Exhibited: RHA, Annual Exhibition, Dublin, 1941, Cat no. 12.
Rival Musicians by Lady Beatrice Glenavy, RHA (1883-1968), evokes a mythical, almost surreal dreamscape of a type commonly seen within her oeuvre. An even-toned Arcadian scene, it features three principal subjects whose disposition and attire suggest a narrative dimension. On the left, seated on the lawn, is an attractive young woman in a pale pink dress, while sitting left of centre is a handsome musician who exudes quiet charisma.
The rival of the title is the Greek god Pan, shown lounging on the grass clutching his namesake pipes. Associated with the wilder aspects of nature, and in keeping with his representation in ancient art, he is depicted with horns and the legs of a goat. All three appear frozen in space, lost in their thoughts, and together they form a triangular shape which reinforces the static quality of the image.
However, Lady Glenavys design sensibility animates this stabilising element with the inclusion of some white doves in flight also providing a colour contrast with the black whippet seated opposite. The broken brushwork, the twisted tree boughs, the dogs curled tail, the spiralling book pages and the diagonal introduced by the central characters crossed leg all lend an air of subtle dynamism to an otherwise still and timeless work.
As a prize-winning art student who studied briefly in Paris in the early 1900s, Beatrice Glenavy was educated at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art (under William Orpen) and the Slade School of Art (under WiIson Steer and Henry Tonks). She also worked for a time at Sarah Pursers An Tr Gloine, and examples from her body of work the storytelling quality of which may reflect her interest in theatre are found in several national collections.
Dr. Susan Campbell
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