Mary Swanzy
Mary Swanzy | |
---|---|
![]() in Dublin, 1908 | |
Born | 15 February 1882 Dublin,Ireland |
Died | 7 July 1978 London, United Kingdom | (aged 96)
Nationality | Irish |
Known for | early Irish abstract painting |
Style | cubism,fauvism,futurism,andorphism |
Mary SwanzyHRHA(15 February 1882 – 7 July 1978) was an Irish landscape and genre artist.[1]Noted for her eclectic style, she painted in many styles includingcubism,futurism,[2]fauvism,andorphism,[3]she was one of Ireland's firstabstract painters.[4]
Early life and education
[edit]Mary Swanzy was born in Dublin on 15 February 1882, the second of three daughters of SirHenry Rosborough Swanzy,an eye surgeon, and his wife Mary (née Denham). The family residence was at 23 Merrion Square. Swanzy attended Alexandra College, Earlsfort Terrace, a finishing school at the Lycée in Versailles, France, and a day school in Freiburg, Germany. This education meant that Swanzy was fluent in French and German. She went on to take art classes atMary Manning's studio, under the direction ofJohn Butler Yeats.Manning encouraged Swanzy to study modelling withJohn Hughesat the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. Living within walking distance of theNational Gallery of Ireland,she spent a lot of time studying and copying the great masters. Swanzy's first exhibition was with theRoyal Hibernian Academy(RHA) in 1905 withPortrait of a child,continuing to exhibit portraits every year until 1910. In 1905 she went to Paris, and worked at the Delacluse studio. She went on to attend the studio ofAntonio de La Gándarain 1906, and took classes atAcadémie de la Grande ChaumièreandAcadémie Colarossi.Whilst in Paris Swanzy was exposed to the works ofGauguin,Matisse,andPicasso,which made a lasting impression on her.[5]
Artistic career
[edit]On her return to Dublin, Swanzy painted portraits and genre scenes and held her first show at Mill's Hall, Merrion Row in 1913. She held another show there in 1919, where she exhibited nearly 50 pieces. This exhibition was reviewed bySarah Purserwho noted the lack of melancholy and light optimism in Swanzy's Irish landscapes. Swanzy painted in a number of styles, often reflecting the major art developments in Paris. After the deaths of her parents, Swanzy was financially independent and could travel, spending her time between Dublin andSaint-TropezduringWorld War Iwhilst continuing to paint. She also exhibited with theSociété des Artistes Indépendantsin 1914 and 1916, being elected to the committee in 1920. Whilst visiting her sister who was involved with the Protestant relief mission in Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, Swanzy painted landscapes, village life, and peasant scenes. These works were shown in the autumn of 1921 in the Dublin Painters' Gallery with six other artists includingJack Butler Yeats,Paul Henry,andClare Marshwith whom Swanzy shared a studio.[5][6]
Swanzy began to travel to more exotic countries from the 1920s,Honoluluaround 1923, and laterSamoa.As a result, she painted local tropical flowers, trees, and native women, with a palette and style similar to that ofFauvism.She stayed for a time in Santa Barbara, California, working in a local studio and exhibiting some of her Samoan work at the Santa Barbara Arts Club Gallery. She returned to Ireland in February 1925 and exhibited three of her Samoan paints at the RHA, and 14 at her one-woman show in the Galerie Bernheim Jeune, Paris in October 1925.Gertrude Steinwrote to Swanzy to congratulate her on her Paris exhibition.[5]
In the mid 1920s Swanzy settled inBlackheath, London,making regular trips to Dublin and abroad. In 1932 Purser held an exhibition of Swanzy's work for invited guests in her house.[5]Purser's drawing room was the subject of one of Swanzy's work.[3]At this time Swanzy's painting was influenced byorphismand was reviewed positively. Her work became more allegorical in later years,[6]withThe messagein theHugh Lane Gallerydemonstrating this. DuringWorld War IISwanzy stayed with her sister inCoolockfor three years. In 1943, she held a one-woman show at the Dublin Painters' Gallery, and she was also featured at the firstIrish Exhibition of Living Art.She was exhibited at St George's Gallery, London in 1946 along withHenry Moore,Marc Chagall,andWilliam Scott.[5]
Later life
[edit]Swanzy was made an honorary member of the RHA in 1949,[1]showing with them in 1950 and 1951. She did not exhibit in Ireland for a number of years, but the Hugh Lane Gallery held a major retrospective of her work in 1968. Following this she held two one woman shows at the Dawson Gallery in 1974 and 1976. In 1975 she was featured at the Cork ROSC and resumed showing with the RHA. She continued to paint until her death at her home in London on 7 July 1978. In 1982 theTaylor Galleriesheld her exhibition to mark the centenary of her birth.[5]More recently Swanzy was featured in theIrish Museum of Modern Art2013 exhibitionAnalysing Cubism.[7]From October 2018-February 2019, also in IMMA, she was the subject of the solo exhibitionMary Swanzy Voyages.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ab"Mary Swanzy HRHA".The Model.Archived fromthe originalon 26 June 2015.Retrieved24 June2015.
- ^"IMMA presents two landmark exhibitions this autumn: Mary Swanzy and Wolfgang Tillmans".Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA).31 October 2018.Retrieved14 February2020.
- ^abGray, Sara (2009).The Dictionary of British Women Artists.Cambridge: The Lutterworth Press. p. 255.ISBN9780718830847.
- ^"Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882–1978)".Visual Arts Cork.Retrieved24 June2015.
- ^abcdefDevine, Ruth (2009). "Swanzy, Mary". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.).Dictionary of Irish Biography.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ab"Mary Swanzy (1882–1978) Ireland".JLW Collection.Retrieved24 June2015.
- ^"Exhibitions > Recent Exhibitions – Analysing Cubism: Mainie Jellett, Evie Hone, Mary Swanzy and masters of European Modernism".IMMA.Retrieved24 June2015.
- ^"Exhibitions > Recent Exhibitions – Mary Swanzy Voyages".