WHYTE'S IMPORTANT IRISH ART MONDAY 27 MAY 2019 AT 6PM

36 William John Leech RHA ROI (1881-1968) LUXEMBOURG GARDENS AND SENAT oil on board signed lower right; signed and titled on reverse 14 by 18in. (35.6 by 45.7cm) Provenance: Hazel, Lady Lavery; Her daughter Alice Gwynne; Thence by descent ‘Luxembourg Gardens and Senat’ the title inscribed on the back of the work, in Leech’s handwriting, is painted on the same size of board as the similarly, freely painted work ‘A Balcony, Grasse’ which also belonged to Hazel Lavery (1880 - 1935). The Luxembourg Gardens are situated in the 6th arrondissement of Paris and are owned today by the French Senate, which meets in the Palace. As W.J. Leech and the Belfast born artist John Lavery (1856 - 1941) were painting in the small fishing town of Concarneau in 1903 and 1904, it is highly probable that they met as part of the small cohesive group of English speaking artists, in addition to their Irish backgrounds. As Hazel Martyn, who was from Chicago and who became Lavery’s wife in 1909 and Elizabeth Saurin, who was from St. Louis and who became Leech’s wife in 2012, were both in Concarneau at this time and inevitably would have met. Leech and Elizabeth spent 2011 and 1912 in Paris before their marriage in London in June. This was the period of his painting ‘A Convent Garden’, or as titled by Leech ‘Les Soeurs du St. Esprit’, NGI. This informal scene, painted freely with trees in full leaf, indicating a bright summer’s day in Paris, has all of Leech’s hallmarks, in the diagonal of the vivid viridian green grass in the foreground which recedes to the warm pink tones of the building, which could be the side of the Luxembourg Palace with its typical French Mansard roof glimpsed through the trees, punctuated by one of the over one hundred statues. The trees to the left, painted in dark greens, emphasise the open space as it becomes flooded by the sun beyond. Unusual strokes of white paint, applied between the trunks of the trees, indicate strong sunlight beyond which are repeated in the edges of the awning and in some windows. When painting out of doors, Leech used boards, sometimes smaller than 14 by 18 inches as he has used here, to inform larger works carried out in his studio. Leech’s friendship with the Laverys possibly continued after Leech’s involvement with May Botterell, as both couples lived in London in a similar milieu. After Leech’s meeting with May Botterell in 1919, the couple spent the summers in the South of France, choosing first the hillside village of St. Jeannet, above Nice, where they spent seven summers. They continued to holiday in the South of France but stayed closer to the Mediterranean, firstly in Cagnes-sur-Mer, where Renoir had previously made his home. Then they moved to the perfume producing town of Grasse, above Cannes, where the surrounding fields were a mass of lavender, verbena and highly scented herbs. Leech did not travel far in search of subject matter in Grasse, painting the local municpipal gardens where the statue of Fragonard was displayed, in homage to the perfumery business. Meeting up in the South of France was probable too as the Laverys stayed in Mougins in 1926, in Cannes 1929 - 30 and again in 1931 with the Leechs in Grasse, above Cannes. Leech’s subject matter, for this period of his life, ended abruptly with the outbreak of the second world war in 1939 after which he never again travelled to France. The two works ‘A Balcony, Grasse’ and ‘Luxembourg Gardens and Senat’ which originally were in the collection of Hazel Lavery were possibly given as a gift at the time or bought by Hazel Lavery directly from Leech. There is no record that either had been exhibited, yet, on the back of the ‘Luxembourg Gardens’ is the prefix No. 3, indicating that it was exhibited. These works have remained in Hazel Lavery’s family until recently, passing to her daughter Alice Gwynne and thence by descent. Dr Denise Ferran April 2019 €10,000-€15,000 (£8,620-£12,930 approx.) Click Here for Large Images & To Bid Lot 36