Maurice MacGonigal PRHA (1900–1979) Milking the Cows  c. 19...

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€6,500

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Maurice MacGonigal PRHA (1900–1979)

Milking the Cows  c. 1934, oils on canvas, 127cms x 86cms (50” x 34”).

A spirited and lively painting, this scene of two cows being milked by hand, Milking the Cows, was part of a commission given to Maurice MacGonigal by Patrick and Ellen Rooney, for their house “Runnymede” in Dublin, in the early 1930’s.  The composition is dominated by the two cows, their hides depicted by MacGonigal with vigorous brushwork, using colours that include brown and black, but also vivid blue and red, investing this work with an almost Symbolist quality. In the background can be seen a row of traditional thatched cottages and in the distance a range of blue mountains. The cows are being milked by a couple, a man and a woman. Dressed in a bright red dress, with white apron, the woman has her face pressed against the side of the cow. In the foreground, the man, also seen from behind, is dressed in a brown waistcoat and blue trousers. Visitors to the Aran Islands—particularly painters—were entranced by the traditional brightly coloured dress of the islanders, and were saddened when the red woollen skirts and homespun jackets were replaced by mass-produced clothing.

The paintings produced by MacGonigal for Runnymede included a large canvas of Aran Islanders, as well as individual works, including Woman at a Spinning Wheel, exhibited at the Gorry Gallery in 1993. Through paintings such as these, MacGonigal, who was from Dublin city, sought to portray traditional life in the west of Ireland, and create a ‘national’ school of painting. Eventually, when Runnymede was sold, the murals were taken down and distributed amongst members of the family.

 

Born in Dublin in 1900, Maurice MacGonigal was educated at Synge Street School before being apprenticed to his uncle Joshua Clarke, the stained-glass manufacturer. Encouraged by the Quaker republican Bulmer Hobson, he enlisted in Na Fianna Eireann, and later became a member of the IRA, participating in the War of Independence. Arrested in 1920, he was interned in Ballykinlar Camp. After his release, he went back to the Clarke studios, but left to take up a scholarship at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art, where he studied under Patrick Touhy and Seán Keating, who had both been taught by William Orpen. After a stay with the Van Stockum family in Holland in 1927, MacGonigal returned to Ireland,inspired by the paintings of Van Gogh, and over the following two decades did some of his finest work in the west of Ireland, depicting scenes of everyday life and landscapes. In 1935 he painted a group of his friends, members of the art group known as ‘The Radical Club’. Set in the life drawing room of the National College of Art, this painting, Studio Interior, is in the Limerick City Gallery. He also designed sets for the Abbey Theatre, the Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes, and contributed illustrations to the Saorstat Eireann Handbook edited by Bulmer Hobson. In 1939, MacGonigal was commissioned to paint a large mural for the Irish pavilion in the New York World’s Fair, his wife Aida serving as the model for the depiction of ‘America’. From 1924 to 1978, he exhibited regularly at the Royal Hibernian Academy, serving twice as Keeper, and in 1962 was appointed President. He also taught at the National College of Art, where he was Professor of Painting from 1954 to 1969. A retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Hugh Lane Municipal Art Gallery in 1991.
Dr. Peter Murray, 2022

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Auction Date: 16th Nov 2022 at 12:30pm

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Sale Dates:
16th Nov 2022 12:30pm (Lots 1 to 420)