Beatrice Glenavy (1883-1970) Roses,  oils on canvas c. 1952...

Hammer

€1,400

Beatrice Glenavy (1883-1970)

Roses,  oils on canvas c. 1952, Signed with monogram lower left ‘BG’, 36cms x 25.5cms (14” x 10”)

Inscribed on verso ‘Roses £10  Lady Glenavy RHA, Rockbrook House, Rathfarnham’

Set on a folded cloth, with beach and sea in the background, stands a vase containing a bouquet of roses. Cast perhaps in porcelain, or carved in stone, the monochrome vase is shaped like a hand holding a large bud, the base in the form of a wrist with lace cuff, encircled by a bracelet.  As well as pink roses, the bouquet also contains green ferns. It is a classic Glenavy still-life, one that combines realistic elements with more ambiguous, even surreal, elements.

A painter fond of introducing such touches of the surreal into her landscapes and still-life paintings, Beatrice Glenavy (neé Elvery) was also a sculptor, stained-glass artist, theatre set painter, and illustrator of childrens’ books. Enrolling as a student at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin in 1896, she initially studied under the sculptor John Hughes, and later under the painter William Orpen. A gifted artist, Glenavy won three Taylor Scholarships, enabling her to travel to Paris, where she attended Colarossi’s studio. In 1903 she joined An Túr Gloine (Tower of Glass) and made windows for the Convent of Mercy in Enniskillen. Her allegorical portrait of Maud Gonne, Eire, was presented by Gonne to St. Enda’s, the Irish-speaking school set up by Patrick Pearse. In 1910, Glenavy moved to London, enrolling at the Slade School of Art. Two years later she married the barrister Charles Campbell (later 2nd Baron Glenavy), and devoted much of her life thereafter to raising three children, one of whom, Patrick Campbell, became a celebrated writer and broadcaster. An active member of the RHA (she was elected an associate member in 1932, and a full member two years later) Glenavy showed over two hundred works at the Academy. This painting may be the work entitled Pink Roses, exhibited at the RHA in 1952. Glenavy died in Dublin in 1970.
Dr. Peter Murray, 2022