151
Harry Kernoff RHA (1900-1974)
Estimate:
€3,000 - €4,000
Sold
€3,000
Live Auction
Irish & International Art
Size
14.50 by 11in. (36.8 by 27.9cm)
Description
Title: LAVENDER MAN, 1957
Note: Prodigals And Geniuses - The Writers And Artists of Dublin's Baggotonia by Brendan Lynch: "Another artist, the great Harry Kernoff, made a speciality of depicting Dublin characters such as the Toucher Doyle, who got his nickname from ingratiating himself with King Edward VII at the Curragh races and touching him for a fiver. Kernoff also painted the Lavender Man, who sold artificial lavender and real French letters." In 1932, artist Kathleen Cox began producing figurines, drawing influence from the Royal Doulton Burslem factory, where she worked for a time. One such figurine was The Lavender Man, modelled on Michael Clifford, a Dublin street trader. "The Lavender Man" is also mentioned in James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake.
Note: Prodigals And Geniuses - The Writers And Artists of Dublin's Baggotonia by Brendan Lynch: "Another artist, the great Harry Kernoff, made a speciality of depicting Dublin characters such as the Toucher Doyle, who got his nickname from ingratiating himself with King Edward VII at the Curragh races and touching him for a fiver. Kernoff also painted the Lavender Man, who sold artificial lavender and real French letters." In 1932, artist Kathleen Cox began producing figurines, drawing influence from the Royal Doulton Burslem factory, where she worked for a time. One such figurine was The Lavender Man, modelled on Michael Clifford, a Dublin street trader. "The Lavender Man" is also mentioned in James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake.
Medium
pastel
Signature
signed and dated upper right; titled and date printed in the mount lower centre
Provenance
Adam's & Bonham's, 3 December 2008, lot 188;
Private collection
Exhibited
'Dubliners: Portraits by Harry Kernoff RHA', Godolphin Gallery, Dublin, February 1975, catalogue no. 55
