54 / 211
37
Harry Kernoff RHA (1900-1974)
QUEEN’S MEWS COURT, STORE STREET, DUBLIN, c.1939-1940
oil on panel
signed lower right; inscribed with title [Queen’s Mews Court, Store Street, Dublin (Now Gone), 1940] and
artist’s address [Stamer St., Dublin] on reverse
21 x 20in. (53.34 x 50.80cm)
Provenance:
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner’s family
Exhibited:
‘Loan and Cross Section Exhibition of Contemporary Paintings’, October 7-31, 1939, catalogue no. 51;
’Recent Work of Harry Kernoff, RHA,’ Victor Waddington Galleries, Dublin, 11-19 June 1940, catalogue no.
20; RHA Annual Exhibition, 1940, catalogue no. 22;
’Exhibition of Old and New Paintings by Harry Kernoff RHA’, Studio Arts Club, 6 - 20 October 1942, cata-
logue no. 44
Brightly coloured and filled with bustling detail, this painting is characteristic of Kernoff ’s views of streets
and lanes around Dublin.
No longer part of the city’s streetscape, Queen’s Mews Court was located at the junction of Mabbot Street and
Store Street, almost tucked under the overhead railway track. The original function of the Court was to serve
as stabling for the Custom House, and in his seminal text Dublin 1660 - 1860 Maurice Craig described it as
‘the Custom House Stables, Store Street’. (1) Kernoff has filled the composition with small details evocative of
daily life in this small corner of the city. Clean laundry appears to waft gently in a breeze, casting strong, dark
shadows on the pink wall of the terrace. The pavement is neat and tidy, save for a lingering puddle. The small
black dog in the left hand corner can be found in many of Kernoff ’s Dublin paintings, such as Liberty Hall,
Dublin (Night), (Whyte’s, 1 October 2012, lot 64). The stance and braided hair of the young girl in on the
right hand side is also repeated in other works, for example, Sunny Day, Dublin, 1943 (Crawford Art Gallery,
Cork).
A preparatory sketch in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI.7766.411) is dated to 14 Au-
gust 1939, and a comparison of the two works show that Kernoff made a number of changes to the composi-
tion in the finished painting. In the drawing, a steam engine is coming into sight on the railway bridge, while
above the ‘Kosy Kottage’, two advertisements can be seen. In the present work, an eye-catching blue and white
sign touts cut price cigarettes - a notable change from eggs, as seen in the drawing. The addition of the wom-
an pushing a cart of laundry bags at the edge of the canvas, draws the viewer’s eye, and we cannot but help
follow her glance towards the children playing to the side.
Dr Kathryn Milligan
ESB Fellow, ESB Centre for the Study of Irish Art, National Gallery of Ireland
April 2016
1. Maurice Craig, Dublin 1660 - 1860: a social and architectural history, Dublin, Allen Figgis Ltd., 1969, plate
XLI.
€15,000-€20,000 (£11,810-£15,750 approx.)
Large Image & Place Bid Lot 37