Harry Kernoff R.H.A. (1900 -1974), Beech Trees, Poulaphouca

One of the most interesting Dublin painters of the 20th Century, Harry Kernoff's artistic output was prolific and varied. He depicted street scenes and Dublin 'characters'. He made portraits of the artistic and literary set, as well as of the Jewish community, of which he was a member. He produced landscapes and cityscapes of Dublin, rural Ireland and abroad. He produced woodcuts, watercolours and oils, as well as illustrations and set designs.

Born to a Spanish Jewish mother and a Russian father, the Kernoff family moved to Dublin when Harry was a young boy. He travelled widely and held exhibitions in Paris, London, Glasgow, New York, Canada and Italy. He was active in the Irish arts scene, went through a more avant-garde / modernist phase and was elected a member of the R.H.A. (Royal Hibernian Academy) in 1936. An active anti-fascist, an illustrator for republican and labour publications, a designer for The Irish Worker's Voice, he was a busy and accomplished artist. He is now one of Ireland's most collected artists, whose work appears in many prominent collections, including the National Gallery and the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery.

This beautifully relaxed watercolour over pencil drawing shows a grove of mature beech trees, a track leading through them, a wooden fence, clouds and sky. It's an unusually un-populated piece by Kernoff, focused entirely on nature and not on people. Lovely play of light and shadows on the ground. Signed and dated bottom left, 1932. 39 x 27cm. Excellent condition, beautifully newly framed with acid-free archival materials.

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