Beschreibung:

Artist: Letitia Marion Hamilton RHA (1875-1964) Title: The Killeries Signature: signed with initials 'LMH' lower right Medium: oil on board Size: 31.70 x 41.40cm (12.5 x 16.3in) Framed Size: 44 x 52.7cm (17.3 x 20.7in) Provenance: Private Collection a#morebtn { color: #de1d01; } a#morebtn:hover { cursor: pointer;} In Letitia Hamilton's view of Killary Harbour, the waters of the fjord are a green silvery colour, reflecting grey cloudy skies above. To the right a mountain rises steeply, its flanks picked out in bold brushstrokes of olive green, brown and suffused pink. In the foreground, an outcrop of rocks is ... Read more Letitia Marion Hamilton Lot 21 - 'The Killeries' Estimate: €8,000 - €12,000 In Letitia Hamilton's view of Killary Harbour, the waters of the fjord are a green silvery colour, reflecting grey cloudy skies above. To the right a mountain rises steeply, its flanks picked out in bold brushstrokes of olive green, brown and suffused pink. In the foreground, an outcrop of rocks is depicted in equally harmonious but contrasting colours; grey, white, dark blue and burnt umber. Hamilton has captured the colours of Connemara beautifully in this spirited and painterly work. The vantage point chosen by her would have been familiar to readers of W. H. Barlett's 'The Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland', published almost a century earlier, which contains an engraving showing the same view, of Mweelrea mountain rising above Killary Harbour. The view is taken from the shoreline, near Leenane. In the distance Inis Bearna can be seen, with the Atlantic Ocean beyond. A fjord sixteen kilometres in length, Killary is located in Connemara, on the border between Galway and Mayo. From Bartlett's time onwards, the area became popular with tourists, and Hamilton would have found a ready market for this view of Killary, or, as it titled, The Killeries. Letitia Hamilton was one of a generation of Irish women from privileged backgrounds-like her cousin Rose Barton-who turned to art as a profession. Together with her older sister Eva, Letitia spent her life painting, traveling and exhibiting. The sisters did not marry and, with their genteel lifestyle and dedication to art, became known as 'The Hamwood Ladies'. The daughter of Charles Robert Hamilton and Louise Brooke, Letitia was born into a family of ten, at Hamwood House in Co. Meath. After attending Alexandra College, she enrolled as a student at the Metropolitan School of Art, as did Eva, where she studied under William Orpen. The sisters then moved to London, where Letitia studied for a time under Anne St. John Partridge (1860-1836) at the Chelsea Polytechnic and also under Frank Brangwyn. She first showed at the RHA in 1909, submitting a view of her local village, Dunboyne, and thereafter exhibited regularly at the Academy. After the death of their father in 1913, Letitia and her mother and sisters lived at the family's Dublin townhouse, 40 Lower Dominick Street, but three years later they moved to Monasterevin, in Co. Kildare. By 1920, when Letitia was one of the founder members of the Society of Dublin Painters, the family were living at Font Hill in Palmerstown, close to Dublin. Letitia spent time in the West of Ireland , painting mainly landscapes, but also travelled extensively on the Continent, particularly in Italy and Yugoslavia. In 1924, at the invitation of Ada Longfield, the two sisters spent the year in Venice, the first of several visits. During this period, Letitia began to paint using a palette knife. She exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1925, and also in London, at the Goupil, Walker's and French galleries, as well as showing with the RA, RSBA and the Fine Art Society, and in 1948 she won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in London. Peter Murray, September 2023