Ł1,500
Watercolour and pencil on paper, 20 X 30 ins. (50.8 X 76.2 cms.)
Provenance: the artist's estate
Ł1,000
Pencil and watercolour, 18 x 11 ins. (47 X 29.8 cms.)
'Beneath the south wall of his studio my father made wigwams of canes to support multicoloured gourds and deep blue Morning Glory trumpets. He grew many kinds of Polygonum. Some, like P. cuspidatum, were statuesque giants, others [such as cat. 106] were delicate and lacy. He appreciated flowers such as tulips and Opium Poppies for their slender upright form with a burst of bloom at the top, as they popped up between bushier plants throughout the garden. Lilies likewise shot through the foliage of other plants and exploded in exquisite flowers. Auriculas were a particular passion. He loved the primly formal arrangement which complemented the sumptuous colour combinations.' Elizabeth Bulkeley, the artist's daughter, letter to Paul Liss 15th March 2005.
Reserved
Unframed
Watercolour over ink
Inscribed April 40
11 3/8 x 17 1/4 in. (29 x 43.8 cm.)
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Wash,
13 3/4 x 6 1/4 in. (35 x 16 cm.)
Mahoney was commissioned to produce a mural scheme for the Lady Chapel at Campion Hall in 1941. The scheme was to be made up primarily of three large panels: the Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds, the Coronation of the Virgin, and Our Lady of Mercy. In detail and composition the paintings owe much to early Italian example. The most notable case is Our Lady of Mercy (Autumn), clearly inspired by Piero della Francesca's altarpiece at Borgo San Sepolcro. Electing to paint directly onto canvas fixed to the walls and by daylight hours only, the project inevitably became drawn out – Mahoney could only work in situ during the Easter and summer vacations when he was not teaching. The project continued into the following decade and coincided with a serious decline in the artist’s physical health. In spite of these problems, Sir John Rothenstein, who chose to reproduce one of the murals as a plate in British Art since 1900 (1962, pl.60), was moved to describe the scheme as “second ….. only to that by Stanley Spencer at Burghclere”. A full account of the circumstances of the commission and some of the problems involved can be found in Sir John Rothenstein’s Tribute to Mahoney in the catalogue of the Memorial Exhibition held at the Ashmolean Museum in 1975.
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Unframed
Pen and ink with gouache highlights
19 x 12 3/4 in. (48.3 x 32.5 cm.)
pin marks to corners with small losses bottom left; fold marks top left corner
'Beneath the south wall of his studio my father made wigwams of canes to support multicoloured gourds and deep blue Morning Glory trumpets. He grew many kinds of Polygonum. Some, like P. cuspidatum, were statuesque giants, others were delicate and lacy. He appreciated flowers such as tulips and Opium Poppies for their slender upright form with a burst of bloom at the top, as they popped up between bushier plants throughout the garden. Lilies likewise shot through the foliage of other plants and exploded in exquisite flowers. Auriculas were a particular passion. He loved the primly formal arrangement which complemented the sumptuous colour combinations.' Elizabeth Bulkeley, the artist's daughter, letter to Paul Liss 15th March 2005.
Thumbnail panels:
