26 by 20in. (66 by 50.8cm)

Title: WOMAN WITH RED HAIR
Note: May Guinness (1863-1955) was part of a vanguard of Irish modernists that included Eileen Gray (1978-1976) and Mary Swanzy (1882-1978). Her modernist training began under the Impressionist Norman Garstin in 1894 and after 1910 she studied in Paris under the Expressionist Kees Van Dongen whose radical use of colour was an influence. At the outbreak of the First World War she became a military nurse for the French army. After the war (at the age of 59) she studied under leading Cubist master André Lhote overlapping slightly with Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone although they sniffed of the much older artist that her images were 'too naturalistic'. While in Paris she acquired works by Bonnard, Braque, Dufy, Matisse, Picasso, and Rouault where later in her Dublin 'salon' they became a resource for artists who wished to see examples of Parisian modernism.The present work certainly dates from during or after her time with Lhote (1922-25) and it compares favourably to her best-known painting Two Irish Girls (Merrion Collection). As befits a Cubist painting, the colour palette is very limited and there is no perspective or foreshortening. The picture has been divided vertically, horizontally and diagonally to create dynamic geometric shapes and lozenges within which the form is flattened out in a non-naturalistic manner. Despite this, Guinness has introduced a gorgeous serpentine line which feminises the sitter with her exaggerated swan-like neck, cape, and mantilla-covered hair. Note that her arms have been omitted from the composition, but this does not detract from the picture. Quoting Cezanne's iconic portrait of his wife, her eyes have been blanked-out and the raking-light in which she is placed flattens out her features giving them a sculptural quality. It could be argued that this is the 'most Cubist' of Guinness's paintings as it resembles a playing card or Tarot design more than a portrait and very successfully utilises cubist forms and techniques. May Guinness can be classified as a 'neglected' Irish artist. Fewer than one hundred of her works have come through the secondary market and there has never been an in-depth retrospective of her work. Paintings like this show that she was capable of producing first-rate work and is deserving of further study.Seán Kissane - Curator: Exhibitions IMMA

oil on board