William John Leech
LA TOILETTE
Lot 20
Result:
Not Sold
Estimate:
€20,000 - €30,000
William John Leech RHA, 1881-1968
LA TOILETTE
Oil on canvas, 37 1/2" x 19 1/2" (95.3 x 49.5cm), signed 'W. J. Leech'
Exhibited: Royal Institute of Oil Painters, no. 280, priced, 26.50 1907;The Irish International Exhibition, no.166, lent...
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Lot 20
William John Leech
LA TOILETTE
Lot 20
William John Leech
LA TOILETTE
Estimate:
€20,000 - €30,000
William John Leech RHA, 1881-1968
LA TOILETTE
Oil on canvas, 37 1/2" x 19 1/2" (95.3 x 49.5cm), signed 'W. J. Leech'
Exhibited: Royal Institute of Oil Painters, no. 280, priced, 26.50 1907;The Irish International Exhibition, no.166, lent by the artist, 1907.
Exhibited: the R.H.A. no.91, 20.00, 1907;Awarded the 50 Taylor Prize for The Toilet in 1906.
When Leech exhibited La Toilette at the R.H.A in 1907, he gave his parents address at Yew Park, Clontarf, Co. Dublin as he had returned to Dublin in 1906. When he exhibited La Toilette at the Rpyal Institute of Oil Painters, London, he gave his address as Hotel des Voyageurs, Concarneau and the attributes after his name, included ARHA and ROI. He also exhibited La Toilette in the Irish International Exhibition and the selection committee included Walter Armstrong, Catteraon Smith, R.H.A., and Oliver Sheppard. He had been elected as an ARHA in 1907, proposed by Dermod OBrien.
In 1906 Leech was awarded the top Taylor scholarship of 50 for The Toilet and the judges included Nathaniel Hone and Sir Walter Armstong. He had previously won the 50 Taylor prize the previous year with A lesson on the violin with the same judges with the addition of James Brenan, the headmaster of the Metropolitan. When Leech transferred from the Metropolitan School of Art to the Royal Hibernian Academy Schools in Dublin, Nathaniel Hone was professor and Walter Osborne his teacher. The following year, in 1901, he enrolled in Academie Julian, Paris, possibly with Osbornes encouragement. His teachers in Paris, were William Bouguereau and Gabriel Ferrier and he studied in the studio of Jean Paul Laurens and Henri Boyer.
La Toiletteis typical of the Salon paintings and similar to the work of students studying at the cole des Beaux Arts. Leechs skillful painting of a model in Breton costume, has a strong chiaroscuro effect with the light illuminating her face and bonnet. It is a very fine example of an early Leech, carefully composed, yet with a strong diagonal created by the skirting board, diagonals, which Leech retained in his future compositions. The strong diagonal, from the lower right, leads to the figure of the young woman as she uses a mirror to see her reflection, while the mirror on the wall captures the side of her head and bonnet. The ceramic clay water jug creates an upright to balance the diagonal of the floor and the mirror frame.
This early Leech encompasses the style of painting in Paris in the early 1900s, using a dark brown/black background with the last paint strokes adding the white of the bonnet, the light flesh tones of the face and left hand. Although Leech rarely dated his output, his painterly technique and subject matter and the dates when works were exhibited, place this and other examples in a close time frame. Additionally this work is signed with Leechs early signature W.J. Leech. It is also probable that La Toilette was purchased at the RHA in 1907.
Denise Ferran, October 2024
LA TOILETTE
Oil on canvas, 37 1/2" x 19 1/2" (95.3 x 49.5cm), signed 'W. J. Leech'
Exhibited: Royal Institute of Oil Painters, no. 280, priced, 26.50 1907;The Irish International Exhibition, no.166, lent by the artist, 1907.
Exhibited: the R.H.A. no.91, 20.00, 1907;Awarded the 50 Taylor Prize for The Toilet in 1906.
When Leech exhibited La Toilette at the R.H.A in 1907, he gave his parents address at Yew Park, Clontarf, Co. Dublin as he had returned to Dublin in 1906. When he exhibited La Toilette at the Rpyal Institute of Oil Painters, London, he gave his address as Hotel des Voyageurs, Concarneau and the attributes after his name, included ARHA and ROI. He also exhibited La Toilette in the Irish International Exhibition and the selection committee included Walter Armstrong, Catteraon Smith, R.H.A., and Oliver Sheppard. He had been elected as an ARHA in 1907, proposed by Dermod OBrien.
In 1906 Leech was awarded the top Taylor scholarship of 50 for The Toilet and the judges included Nathaniel Hone and Sir Walter Armstong. He had previously won the 50 Taylor prize the previous year with A lesson on the violin with the same judges with the addition of James Brenan, the headmaster of the Metropolitan. When Leech transferred from the Metropolitan School of Art to the Royal Hibernian Academy Schools in Dublin, Nathaniel Hone was professor and Walter Osborne his teacher. The following year, in 1901, he enrolled in Academie Julian, Paris, possibly with Osbornes encouragement. His teachers in Paris, were William Bouguereau and Gabriel Ferrier and he studied in the studio of Jean Paul Laurens and Henri Boyer.
La Toiletteis typical of the Salon paintings and similar to the work of students studying at the cole des Beaux Arts. Leechs skillful painting of a model in Breton costume, has a strong chiaroscuro effect with the light illuminating her face and bonnet. It is a very fine example of an early Leech, carefully composed, yet with a strong diagonal created by the skirting board, diagonals, which Leech retained in his future compositions. The strong diagonal, from the lower right, leads to the figure of the young woman as she uses a mirror to see her reflection, while the mirror on the wall captures the side of her head and bonnet. The ceramic clay water jug creates an upright to balance the diagonal of the floor and the mirror frame.
This early Leech encompasses the style of painting in Paris in the early 1900s, using a dark brown/black background with the last paint strokes adding the white of the bonnet, the light flesh tones of the face and left hand. Although Leech rarely dated his output, his painterly technique and subject matter and the dates when works were exhibited, place this and other examples in a close time frame. Additionally this work is signed with Leechs early signature W.J. Leech. It is also probable that La Toilette was purchased at the RHA in 1907.
Denise Ferran, October 2024
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