Beschreibung:

Norah McGuinness HRHA (1901-1980)
Signature: signed and dated lower right; titled and inscribed with provenance on various labels on reverse
Medium: oil on board
Size: 22 x 28½in. (55.88 x 72.39cm) Framed Size: 28 x 34.50in. (71.12 x 87.63cm) Condition: The board is stable and the surface is clean. There are some drying cracks visbible is the lower half of the work, most notably centre left and lower right. They appear stable and have not led to flaking of the paint. Provenance: James O'Connor, Picture Dealer, 1992; From whom acquired by Stephen O'Mara, 2008; Thence to the present owner Henry Samuel Close, the original purchaser of Newtownpark House, died in 1867 and the property remained in that family until 1908 when it passed to John Henry Burton and later to Percy Burton, of Altidore Castle, Co. Wicklow who sold it in 1946 to Se...Read more Henry Samuel Close, the original purchaser of Newtownpark House, died in 1867 and the property remained in that family until 1908 when it passed to John Henry Burton and later to Percy Burton, of Altidore Castle, Co. Wicklow who sold it in 1946 to Senator Edward Augustine McGuire the Irish independent politician, businessman and tennis player. He was a member of Seanad Éireann from 1948 to 1965 and was also the owner of the Brown Thomas Department store in Grafton Street, Dublin. McGuire married Bridget ('Billie') née Neary of Newry Co. Down and they had four children among them the artist Edward McGuire RHA (1932-1986). Under the ownership of McGuire, Newtownpark House became a thriving hub of artistic pursuits and collections of art and antiquities. He was a gifted painter - he studied under Mainie Jellett - and was heavily involved in the arts scene in Dublin sitting on Ireland's first Arts Council, the Cultural Relations Committee and on the Board of Governors and Guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland. It is likely that the present painting was a commission. Norah McGuinness would have known McGuire through her work as a window display artist for Brown Thomas but they would have also moved in the same circles in the city. A Christmas card designed by Norah McGuinness for 'Ned and Billie McGuire, Newtown Park, Blackrock' can be found in the collection of the National Library of Ireland [Ref no. PD 4187 TX (2) 24] while a work in ink and gouache titled Newtown Park, 1948 was shown at her Retrospective, Trinity College, Dublin. By the late 1940s and1950s Norah McGuinness' reputation in the Irish arts scene was impressive. Having acquired a solid training in the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art in 1921, complemented by subsequent accolades and her first exhibition in the Royal Hibernian Academy 1924, McGuinness later developed her skills abroad, first, in London at the Chelsea Polytechnic, and later in Paris from 1929 to 1931 under André L'Hôte. In 1943 Norah McGuinness was one of the founding members of the Irish Exhibition of Living Art (IELA), of which she later became President, following the death of Mainie Jellett in 1944. McGuire exhibited at the IELA and was also one of its guarantors and a trustee for many years. McGuinness retained her presidency until 1972. This view of Newtownpark House was painted at a pivotal juncture in her career in 1947 and is similar in style and execution to other Dublin views such as Dartry Dye Works on the River Dodder in Autumn Promenade, 1948 (illustrated). There is a striking use of colour and a sense of theatricality to the composition. The scene is unveiled to the viewer through a gap in the trees, with sweeping brushstrokes and a zigzag trail of haystacks and psychedelic colour guiding the eye through the composition towards the figures on horseback and the substantial family home. Three years after this work was painted McGuinness was selected alongside Nano Reid to represent Ireland at the Venice Biennale and, in 1957, she was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Hibernian Academy. Newtownpark House and its lands were sold to the Keane family in 1984 and was converted into a nursing home. It is possible the present work was acquired by James O'Connor from the sale of contents of the house wh