Beschreibung:

Artist: Frank McKelvey Title: Figures by the Shore (1921) Signature: signed lower left and dated 1921 Medium: oil on canvas Size: 38 x 51cm (15 x 20.1in) Framed Size: 55.5 x 68cm (21.9 x 26.8in) Provenance: Private Collection a#morebtn { color: #de1d01; } a#morebtn:hover { cursor: pointer;} In this delightful lakeside scene, two figures, a woman and a young girl-perhaps mother and child-stand by the edge of a lake, looking out at a distant boat on the water. The outlines of two figures can be seen in the boat, they are probably enjoying... Read more In this delightful lakeside scene, two figures, a woman and a young girl-perhaps mother and child-stand by the edge of a lake, looking out at a distant boat on the water. The outlines of two figures can be seen in the boat, they are probably enjoying a day's fishing on the lake. The figures of the woman and child are highlighted where the evening sunlight falls on their dresses and hair. Their bright clothing contrasts with the dark foliage of the trees in the middle distance. The reflection of the blue sky on the waters of the lake again evoke a summer's day. It is an idyllic, peaceful scene, and one of McKelvey's most evocative paintings, representing a pastoral ideal; one far removed from the noise and bustle of cities, and the clamor of politics. But as always with McKelvey, there is a sense of something unstated. The woman and child watch and wait patiently-most likely it is the woman's husband who is out in the lake boat. McKelvey had his own way of observing the social realities of life in Ireland in the mid-twentieth century, and of making a quiet commentary on the roles of men and women, as in this apparently innocuous and purely Impressionist scene. One of Ireland's most popular painters, McKelvey was born in Belfast in 1895, the son of a painter and decorator. He trained as a poster designer with David Allen & Sons, before, in 1911, enrolling as a student in the Belfast School of Art. Six years later he won a bronze medal in the Taylor Art competition. In 1918 McKelvey exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy, and thereafter showed with the Academy every year until 1973. Along with Paul Henry and James Humbert Craig he became identified with a particular approach to landscape painting, one that emphasized the natural beauty of the Irish countryside and coastline. Early in his career McKelvey was commissioned by Thomas McGowan to paint a series of views depicting the older parts of Belfast city. These are now in the collection of the Ulster Museum. In 1920 he established a studio in Royal Avenue and over the following years became a member of the Belfast Art Society, the Ulster Society of Painters and, in 1930, the Royal Hibernian Academy. In 1924, he married and settled in Co. Down, but two years later moved back to Belfast. Although he was a leading member of the Northern landscape painters, there are ten portraits by him in Queen's University, and thirteen portraits of US presidents of Ulster extraction, in the Ulster Museum. In New York McKelvey was one of a number of Irish artists shown at the Hackett Gallery, while in Dublin, in 1937, he had his first exhibition at the Victor Waddington Gallery. A founder member of the Royal Ulster Academy in 1930, he last exhibited with the RUA in 1969. His favourite locations for painting landscape were Co. Armagh, the Antrim Coast and, in later years, Co. Donegal. Peter Murray, March 2019