7
Mildred Anne Butler RWS (1858-1941)
Estimate:
€15,000 - €20,000
Passed
Live Auction
Important Irish Art
Size
20.50 by 14in. (52.1 by 35.6cm)
Description
Title: WATER PARTY, KILMURRY, 1891-2
Note: The National Gallery of Ireland will highlight the work of Mildred Anne Butler (MAB) this year with an exhibition titled At Home in Nature (14 September 2024 to 5 January 2025) describing her as "one of Ireland's first professional women artists, who exhibited widely and sold her work well throughout her career."(1)Water Party, Kilmurry, 1891-2 is a large, early exhibition painting by MAB shown at the Watercolour Society of Ireland in 1893; the artist's second year of submitting work there. Over the course of her career she would show more than 200 works with that society alone, the majority, like this example, taking inspiration from her home in Kilmurry, outside Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny. Kilmurry House - a Palladian style Georgian manor on 350 acres - was purchased by the grandson of the 11th Viscount Mountgarret, Captain Henry Butler, Mildred Anne's father, in the late 1800s and remained in the family until 1981. Mildred Anne lived in Kilmurry until her death at the age of 83, its orangery used by her as a studio and the gardens, their flora and fauna, providing a constant stream of inspiration as can be seen in the present work.MAB began exhibiting in her mid-twenties, the Irish Fine Art Society exhibition in Cork records two watercolours by her in 1884. The following year she travelled to Europe, painting throughout this time, and later she went to London in the company of fellow artist Rose Barton where she studied under Paul Jacob Naftel. It was under Naftel's instruction that she began working en plein air and taking inspiration from the natural world. In 1888 her work appeared at the Dudley Gallery, London, and, beginning in 1891, she participated in five exhibitions at the RHA. During the 1890s Butler followed the example of many of her Irish contemporaries travelling to Newlyn, Cornwall in the company of fellow artist May Guinness; studying there under Norman Garstin. In 1896, Butler's Morning Bath was shown at the Royal Academy, London and was at that time only the second work by a female artist to be acquired by the trustees of the Chantrey Bequest and presented to the Tate where it remains today. This prestigious acquisition boosted her profile considerably among her contemporaries and patrons alike in Ireland and abroad. Her work entered the Royal Collection for the first time in 1893, when it was included in a book of watercolours presented to Princess Mary of Teck by the Society of Lady Artists on the occasion of her marriage to the future king George V, and later in 1902 as part of a portfolio gifted to Edward VII from the RWS upon his coronation among other instances. She was also one of the first nine academicians elected to the Ulster Academy of Arts in 1930. She became an associate member of the Royal Watercolour Society in 1896 and full membership was granted in 1937; four years before her death. In 1981 - with the sale of Kilmurry - the contents of the artist's studio were auctioned, sparking renewed interest in her work; a retrospective followed in Kilkenny and Dublin. This portrait view of swans in a pond at Kilmurry is an outstanding example by an artist on the cusp of her prime and it would have represented a shrewd purchase in 1893 just before her work was acquired by the Royal family and demand for her paintings increased considerably. 130 years later and had its whereabouts been known, A Water Party would have been perfectly "at home" in the National Gallery's forthcoming celebration of her work.Adelle Hughes,September 20241. https://www.nationalgallery.ie/art-and-artists/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/mildred-anne-butler-at-home-in-nature For further reading see: Irish Arts Review Vol 41 (3) Autumn 2024, Holding Her Own by Tom Duffy
Frame dimensions: 29 by 21.5in. (73.7 by 54.6cm)
Note: The National Gallery of Ireland will highlight the work of Mildred Anne Butler (MAB) this year with an exhibition titled At Home in Nature (14 September 2024 to 5 January 2025) describing her as "one of Ireland's first professional women artists, who exhibited widely and sold her work well throughout her career."(1)Water Party, Kilmurry, 1891-2 is a large, early exhibition painting by MAB shown at the Watercolour Society of Ireland in 1893; the artist's second year of submitting work there. Over the course of her career she would show more than 200 works with that society alone, the majority, like this example, taking inspiration from her home in Kilmurry, outside Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny. Kilmurry House - a Palladian style Georgian manor on 350 acres - was purchased by the grandson of the 11th Viscount Mountgarret, Captain Henry Butler, Mildred Anne's father, in the late 1800s and remained in the family until 1981. Mildred Anne lived in Kilmurry until her death at the age of 83, its orangery used by her as a studio and the gardens, their flora and fauna, providing a constant stream of inspiration as can be seen in the present work.MAB began exhibiting in her mid-twenties, the Irish Fine Art Society exhibition in Cork records two watercolours by her in 1884. The following year she travelled to Europe, painting throughout this time, and later she went to London in the company of fellow artist Rose Barton where she studied under Paul Jacob Naftel. It was under Naftel's instruction that she began working en plein air and taking inspiration from the natural world. In 1888 her work appeared at the Dudley Gallery, London, and, beginning in 1891, she participated in five exhibitions at the RHA. During the 1890s Butler followed the example of many of her Irish contemporaries travelling to Newlyn, Cornwall in the company of fellow artist May Guinness; studying there under Norman Garstin. In 1896, Butler's Morning Bath was shown at the Royal Academy, London and was at that time only the second work by a female artist to be acquired by the trustees of the Chantrey Bequest and presented to the Tate where it remains today. This prestigious acquisition boosted her profile considerably among her contemporaries and patrons alike in Ireland and abroad. Her work entered the Royal Collection for the first time in 1893, when it was included in a book of watercolours presented to Princess Mary of Teck by the Society of Lady Artists on the occasion of her marriage to the future king George V, and later in 1902 as part of a portfolio gifted to Edward VII from the RWS upon his coronation among other instances. She was also one of the first nine academicians elected to the Ulster Academy of Arts in 1930. She became an associate member of the Royal Watercolour Society in 1896 and full membership was granted in 1937; four years before her death. In 1981 - with the sale of Kilmurry - the contents of the artist's studio were auctioned, sparking renewed interest in her work; a retrospective followed in Kilkenny and Dublin. This portrait view of swans in a pond at Kilmurry is an outstanding example by an artist on the cusp of her prime and it would have represented a shrewd purchase in 1893 just before her work was acquired by the Royal family and demand for her paintings increased considerably. 130 years later and had its whereabouts been known, A Water Party would have been perfectly "at home" in the National Gallery's forthcoming celebration of her work.Adelle Hughes,September 20241. https://www.nationalgallery.ie/art-and-artists/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/mildred-anne-butler-at-home-in-nature For further reading see: Irish Arts Review Vol 41 (3) Autumn 2024, Holding Her Own by Tom Duffy
Frame dimensions: 29 by 21.5in. (73.7 by 54.6cm)
Condition
This work appears to be in very good condition. There are points of discolouration of the sheet upper centre.
Medium
watercolour heightened with white
Signature
signed and titled lower left; dated lower right
