Page 10 - Whyte'slowres

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WHYTESS I N C E 1 7 8 3
,
KENNETH WEBB RWA FRSA RUA ( b.1927)
Colour and nature are dominant features of Kenneth Webb’s painting
with the West of Ireland marrying these characteristics of the artist’s
expression and forming a crucial part of his vocabulary since he first
arrived in Galway over fifty years ago. His garden in Connemara is a
recurring source of inspiration for him, whether he focuses on its wild
flowers, waterlilies, rock pools or turf banks.
Born in London, Kenneth Webb began his artistic career in the UK with
a Slade Scholarship. He exhibited for the first time with the Royal
Academy in 1949 and continued to pursue his studies in design that
year in Gloucester College. In 1953 he relocated to Belfast and was
appointed Head of The Painting School at the Ulster College of Art
where his part-time assistants included Tom Carr, John Luke and Colin
Middleton. During his 6 years in this position Webb had a solo show
care of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, founded the Irish School of
Landscape Painting and was elected to the Royal Society of Arts.
An array of solo exhibitions took place in subsequent years in Dublin
and Belfast as well as in the UK, Europe and the US and Canada. In the
1970s Webb opened his studio in Ballinaboy, near Clifden and began
exhibiting regularly with Kenny’s in Galway. A 1990s retrospective show
was held with Kenny’s and the artist has been the subject of film
documentaries and texts exploring his life and works to date. 2006
marked the artist’s 80th birthday and his 18th solo show in Kennys
since 1963.
To coincide with the Olympic celebrations in London,Webb’s UK agent
W.H. Patterson’s, with whom he has a thirty year relationship, will host
an exhibition of his current work and highlights from previous years. It
will launch on 17 July and run until end August 2012 after which point
the exhibits will travel to Hong Kong to be show cased there.
We are grateful to the artist for his kind assistance in cataloguing these
lots.
1
Kenneth Webb RWA FRSA RUA ( b.1927)
WILD GARDEN, BALLINABOY, GALWAY
oil on canvas
signed lower right
12 by 9in. (30.48 by 22.86cm)
€2,000-€3,000 (£1,680-£2,520 approx)
2
Kenneth Webb RWA FRSA RUA ( b.1927)
THE ENCHANTED FOREST, c. 1960s
oil on canvas
signed lower left; inscribed by artist on reverse; also
with inscribed Blue Door Studio label on reverse
16.50 by 40.50in. (41.91 by 102.87cm)
Provenance:
The Blue Door Studio, Dublin;
Private collection
€6,000-€8,000 (£5,040-£6,720 approx)