Biographies of 19th Century Irish Artists
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FAMOUS IRISH ARTISTS 18TH CENTURY PAINTERS 20TH CENTURY PAINTERS |
Selected Painters (H-K) (Born 1800-1899) For a COMPLETE list, see: 19th Century Irish Artists Eva Hamilton (Portraits,
Landscapes, Watercolourist) (1876-1960) See also: 19th Century Artists A-G; Artists L-R; Artists S-Z |
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Eva Hamilton (Portraits, Landscapes, Watercolourist) (1876-1960) Born in county Meath, the sister of Letitia Hamilton (1878-1964), the fiery red-headed Eva trained at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art and later at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. A portraitist of some talent, her subjects included a number of Dublin luminaries such as Sir Thomas Moffatt, Oliver Fry and Sir William Mahon. From her early twenties onwards she was a regular exhibitor with the Water Colour Society of Ireland, and in 1904, began contributing to the annual shows at the Royal Hibernian Academy, where she exhibited a total of 120 works over the next forty years. She also showed in combination with her sister Letitia Hamilton. She was represented in the much vaunted Exhibition of Irish Art at Brussels in 1930. As well as portraits, she continued to spend time painting landscapes in County Clare, Cork, Kerry and Mayo. Along with Paul and Grace Henry, she was closely involved with the the Society of Dublin Painters, and also showed at the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and the Fine Art Society in London. Examples of her works are in the OPW, Dublin; the Ulster Museum, Belfast; the National Self-Portrait Collection in Limerick; and the Kilkenny Art Gallery Society. St George Hare RI ROI (Narrative, Genre and Figurative Artist) (1857-1933) Born in Limerick, St George Hare studied drawing and painting for three years at the Limerick School of Art under Nicholas A Brophy, before furthering his studies in London, where he remained for seven years. He began showing both watercolours and oils in his early 20s, submitting to the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1881, and thereafter at the Royal Academy, the Royal Institute of Painters, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, the Royal Society of Artists in Birmingham, and the Walker Gallery, Liverpool, among others. He won a gold medal for his history painting "Death of William the Conqueror," which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1886. His most memorable nude work was probably "The Victory of Faith" (1890) which portrayed an African and a European girl asleep together on straw, much to the consternation of more prudent viewers. Living most of his life in London, St George Hare was a founder of the Chelsea Arts Club in 1891, and was an elected member of both the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, with whom he was a regular exhibitor. Examples of his works are in the National Gallery of Ireland, the Royal Hibernian Academy Collection, the Limerick City Gallery of Art, The Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. |
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Gertrude Hartland (Illustrator and Flower Painter) (1865-1954) Born in County Waterford, the botanical illustrator, Mary Gertrude Galway Hartland was the niece of William Baylor Hartland a renowned Cork nurseryman who exported flowers around the globe. Gertrude sketched and painted flowers - mainly daffodils in watercolour - for her uncle's nursery during the late 1880s and 1890s. Her flower drawings were reproduced in the form of illustrations, and used in catalogues and product literature for her uncle's firm and, later, for many others. Two of her illustrated catalogues reside in the library of the Royal Horticultural Society. Despite her unique botanical draughtsmanship, Gertrude appears to have had no great artistic ambitions, and never exhibited either with the Royal Hibernian Academy or the Water Colour Society of Ireland. Claude Hayes RI, ROI (Landscape Artist and Portraitist) (1852-1922) Born in Dublin just prior to the family's move to London, the son of the renowned marine artist Edwin Hayes, Claude showed an early interest in drawing without ever receiving encouragement from Hayes senior. In about 1867, a family row caused him to run away to sea, after which he spent a year in the United States. Returning to England, he studied at Heatherley's Academy and also the Royal Academy Schools, where he absorbed the prevailing style of Romanticism. Like several other Irish artists of his generation, he also studied at Antwerp under Charles Verlat. He began exhibiting at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1874, going on to contribute a total of 21 paintings. In addition, from 1876, he showed at the Royal Academy in London - something he continued to do for more than 40 years. Always a fast painter, he began as a portraitist in oils before specializing in landscapes, first in oils, and then in his favorite watercolours. From 1884, he exhibited the first of 200 works with the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. In due course, he was elected a Member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, as well the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. He continued to exhibit in various venues in London and Belfast, although in later life he suffered from failing health and lack of money. Examples of his work are in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the Ulster Museum (Belfast), the Leeds City Art Gallery and the Sargeant Gallery in New Zealand, to name but a few collections. Michael Angelo Hayes (Watercolourist, Equestrian Art) (1820–1877) Born in Waterford, the son and pupil of the Tipperary watercolour miniaturist Edward Hayes RHA, it was clear from his christening that he was expected to become an artist. Fortunately, Hayes junior was a talented draughtsman and by his late teens had acquired something of a reputation as a painter of horses and military subjects. He began showing at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1837, then for three years 1840-2. In 1842, he was appointed Military Painter-in-ordinary to the Lord Lieutenant. He passed the next few years in London, where he exhibited watercolours at the New Society of Painters, of which he was elected an Associate Member in 1848 - the same year he made his one and only contribution to the Royal Academy. Returning to Dublin, Hayes resumed exhibiting at the RHA, at the same time becoming involved in its administration. He was elected an Associate member in 1853, a full Academician the following year, and Secretary in 1856. The affairs of the Academy were totally disorganized at the time, inducing Hayes and others to resolve the situation. His efforts to reform the institution and secure its finances met with entrenched opposition from older members which resulted in Hayes being removed from his post, although he was successfully reinstated in 1861. Not long afterwards he was appointed secretary to the Lord Mayor of Dublin (Peter McSwiney, his brother-in-law) and later became City Marshal in 1867. He continued as Secretary of the RHA until he resigned in 1870, and continued showing until 1874. He died prematurely in 1877, in a tragic drowning accident at his home. Probably the best 19th century painter of animals in Ireland, Hayes was most accomplished as a watercolourist, although he occasionally used oils. Most of his works were of military scenes in which horses could be introduced. Hayes made a special study of horses in motion, and in 1876 published his conclusions in an illustrated pamphlet, "The Delineation of Animals in Rapid Motion." One of his Dublin paintings - "Sackville Street, Dublin" depicted a view of Dublin’s premier street in the 1850s. (After Independence, it was renamed O’Connell Street in 1924, in memory of Daniel O'Connell (1775—1847) the "Liberator".) The painting is a documentary of social life in Dublin. It achieved widespread popularity when reprinted as a lithograph. |
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Grace Henry HRHA (née Mitchell) (Landscapes/Flowers/Portraits)(1868-1953) Born in Peterhead, Scotland, the second of ten children of a Church of Scotland Minister, Emily Grace Mitchell studied drawing and painting at the Blanc Garrins Academy in Brussels and the Delecluse Academy in Paris. Much later, like Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone as well as May Guinness before her, she studied in the Parisian atelier of Andre Lhote (1885-1962). It was in Paris, in 1900, that she met her husband-to-be, Paul Henry, whom she married thre years later in London. In 1910, while still in London, the couple began exhibiting at the Royal Hibernian Academy. In the same year, a chance holiday on Achill Island, off the Mayo coast, prompted their 7-year move to the West of Ireland in 1912, which heralded much of the familiar landscape painting by these artists. Returning to Dublin in 1920, along with Eva Hamilton and others they co-founded the Society of Dublin Painters, which became synonymous with the avant-garde. Grace eventually separated from Paul, who later omitted all reference to her in his two-volume autobiography. During the 1920s and 1930s, she travelled widely throughout Italy and France, pausing in Paris to study under Andre Lhote. Returning to Ireland, she continued exhibiting in Dublin (eg. at the Victor Waddington and Dawson Galleries) and also in London. Although some 30 of her works were shown at the Royal Hibernian Academy, she was never even elected an Associate Academician. Finally in 1949, four years before her death, she was made an Honorary Member. Examples of her works can be found in numerous collections across Ireland, including the National Gallery, the Hugh Lane Gallery, the Limerick City Art Gallery, the Crawford Gallery in Cork, the Waterford City Art Gallery Collection and the Ulster Museum in Belfast. George William Joy ROI (Historical and Figurative Painter) (1844-1925) Born in Dublin, Joy learned painting and drawing at London's South Kensington School of Art, and at the Royal Academy schools under John Everett Millais, before going to Paris for two years in 1868 to study portraiture and narrative history painting under Charles Francois Jalabert. Returning to London, he successfully submitted "Laodamia" and "Joan of Arc" to the Royal Academy, following these narrative pictures with a series of patriotic works (eg. "The Young Nelson," "The Young Wellington," "The Little Drummer Boy," et al), portraits (eg. HRH Princess Alice of Albany) and yet more narrative paintings (eg. "The Danaids"), which won him medals at the Royal Academy, the Paris Salon, Munich, St Petersburg and Chicago. An artist who specialized in polished and highly popular subjects, Joy found a ready supply of dealers and customers for his paintings, and exhibited widely in Europe, and especially the UK, where his works still hang in numerous regional museums. His best known works include "General Gordon's Last Stand" (1885), depicting the final moments of Gordon's life in Khartoum, "The Bayswater Omnibus" (1895), a charming genre-painting contrasting the differing social classes of the bus passengers, and "Flora MacDonald's Farewell to Prince Charles". As well as the Royal Academy and the Paris Salon, he showed at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, the Royal Society of Artists in Birmingham, the Walker Art Gallery Liverpool, the Manchester City Gallery, The Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin (11 pictures). Both of Joy's sons were killed on the Western Front during World War I. He died in Hampshire at the age of 81. Dorothy Kay (née Elvery) (Portrait, Figurative Artist, Illustrator) (1886-1964) Born at Greystones, Co Wicklow, Kay learned drawing and fine art painting at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art and at the Royal Hibernian Academy Schools, where she won several awards in the early 1900s, including the Taylor Scholarship. After a short period of further study in Paris she began exhibiting with the Young Irish Artists and the Royal Hibernian Academy, gaining a reputation for her fine watercolour painting. In 1910, she emigrated to South Africa, marryied a surgeon, and became an active member of several arts groups, including the South African Society of Artists. During the 1920s, she continued exhibiting with the RHA and submitted several works to the Water Colour Society of Ireland. In addition, she showed in London at the British Empire Exhibition (1924) and at the Royal Society of British Artists. She was also elected a member of the Royal British and Colonial Society of Artists. As well as her watercolours, she produced a huge range of black and white illustrations for a number of magazines. With the outbreak of World War II, she was commissioned as a war artist by the South African Government and completed a number of murals. After the war, she painted a number of portraits of leading figures including General Smuts. She continued to show her works as widely as possible up until 1955, taking part in exhibitions in South Africa, South America and Europe. After her death in 1964 several retrospective shows of her work were staged in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town. Examples of her works can be seen in the South African National Gallery, the South African National Museum for War History, the Marylebone Cricket Club, London. |
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF VISUAL ARTISTS IN IRELAND |
