Beschreibung:

BATHERS, NAYLOR'S COVE, BRAY Harry Kernoff RHA (1900-1974)
Signature: signed and dated [1940] upper right; inscribed on reverse Medium: oil on panel Dimensions: 61 by 76cm., 24 by 30in. Provenance: Godolphin Gallery, Dublin; Whence purchased by the present owner in 1974 Exhibited: RHA, Dublin, 1940, catalogue no. 60 (£50-0-0); (?) ‘An Tóstal Exhibition of Contemporary Irish Art’, International Hotel, Bray, 1954, catalogue no. 35 (£75-0-0); 'Harry Kernoff: A Selection of Dublin Paintings’, Godolphin Gallery, Dublin, 1974, catalogue no. 6 (illustrated in catalogue); 'Harry Kernoff Memorial Exhibition', Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, 14 December 1976 - 30 January 1977, catalogue no. 76 (lent by the present owner); ’30th Anniversary Exhibition of Harry Kernoff (1900-1974)’, Spiller Fine Art, 16-26 February 2005, catalogue no. 23 (lent by the present owner, NFS) Literature: Thomas Bodkin, Twelve Irish Artists, Victor Waddington Publications, Dublin, 1940, colour plate reproduction of the smaller, earlier version of this work A view of the old Naylor’s Cove sea baths, at the foot of Bray Head, Co. Wicklow. Kernoff has chosen for his vantage spot a wooden platform (since gone) which existed to give people access across the ... Dublin and South East railway line down to Naylor’s Cove. Kernoff is known to have painted three versions of this famous image. The first work, simply titled Naylor’s Cove, Bray, was probably a watercolour and was exhibited in 1932 at his exhibition at the Dublin Painters’ Gallery (no. 41, £8-0-0). The second version was painted in 1936 and shared the same title as the watercolour. It was shown at various Kernoff solo exhibitions: Waddington’s, Dublin, October 1936 (no. 51, £25-0-0); the White Gallery, London, April – May 1938 (no. 11, no price listed in catalogue); and at the Studio Arts Club, Dublin, October 1942 (no. 5, £20-0-0). In 1954 he showed a work, Naylor’s Cove, Bray at the An Tóstal Exhibition of Contemporary Irish Art at the International Hotel, Bray, (no. 35, £75-0-0). Given the high price of this last exhibit, it can be deduced that it was probably the present work, which was larger than either of the earlier versions1. The 1936 work was reproduced in the Waddington publication, Twelve Irish Artists, in 1940, the year in which the present work was painted. Kernoff quite likely embarked on this second version with the thought in mind of the potential publicity that Waddington’s book might generate. In any case he exhibited it that year at the RHA, where it hung alongside other well-known works: David Byrne’s (no. 10) and Winetavern Street - July Morning, Dublin (no. 19; later sold through Sotheby’s, 16 May 2003, lot 106, £80,000). It was therefore evidently intended as an exhibition piece whereupon to stake his reputation, and as such must be ranked amongst the handful of his finest works. 1 Kernoff records that the 1936 work measured 15 by 20 inches. See his annotated copy of the White Gallery catalogue, National Library of Ireland, LO P 158 more