Beschreibung:

Artist: Frank McKelvey Title: Harvesting (c.1930) Signature: signed lower left Medium: oil on canvas Size: 46 x 61cm (18.1 x 24in) Framed Size: 71 x 86cm (28 x 33.9in) Provenance: Private Collection a#morebtn { color: #de1d01; } a#morebtn:hover { cursor: pointer;} A consummate, if conservative, exercise in Academic Realism, with more than a touch of Impressionism, Frank McKelvey's The Hay Wagon is a depiction of work in progress on a farm, in a summer's day in Ulster. In the foreground, two figures watch the h... Read more A consummate, if conservative, exercise in Academic Realism, with more than a touch of Impressionism, Frank McKelvey's The Hay Wagon is a depiction of work in progress on a farm, in a summer's day in Ulster. In the foreground, two figures watch the hay-makers at work. The figures, two girls, are in shadow but the clouds have parted to allow sunshine to illuminate the work going forward in the field. In the distance, a man piles hay on top of the wagon. The brushwork is inspired; quick dabs of colour suggesting sky, clouds, trees and grass. The composition is understated; a series of diagonal light and dark areas in the foreground contrast with the sinuous vertical trunks of trees rising to the left of the hay wagon. Although seen from a distance, the workers and wagon, bathed in light, are the focal point of this work. In this painting, one of McKelvey's finest, nothing is out of place. It is an exercise in light and shade, fluently painted. Peter Murray, March 2019