WHYTE'S IRISH & INTERNATIONAL ART MONDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2022

56 34 Harry Kernoff RHA (1900-1974) BEND IN THE ROAD, HOWTH, COUNTY DUBLIN, 1937 watercolour signed and dated lower left 9 by 13in. (22.9 by 33cm) Frame Dimensions: 18.5 by 21.5in. (47 by 54.6cm) Provenance: Phillips, London, 2 November 1999, lot 38; Private collection While perhaps best known for his depictions of Dublin’s busy streets, the county’s suburbs were also a frequent subject of Harry Kernoff’s work. Spanning the bay from Bray and Sandycove to Portmarnock and Donabate, the artist was not immune to the lure of a seaside town, and the resulting coastal views are among some of his finest landscape scenes. Depictions of Howth, such as the present work, appeared in the artist’s exhibitions from late 1920s. This colourful view of the popular tourist and day tripper spot was conceived of slightly later: the preparatory pencil sketch, now in the National Gallery of Ireland, is dated to 20 June 1937 with the inscription, ‘View of Howth’. Filled with characteristic details such as courting couples, running children and a sign for ‘Doyle’s’ tea shop’ (along with a glimpse into its interior) Kernoff also masterfully captures the changing gradient of Howth hill, with a jigsaw of slopping roofs, steep paths, and the cliff face, spanning out to the beach beyond. A larger version of this scene in oils is extant, along with other views of Dublin Bay and Balscadden Bay which date to the same period, all capturing the area’s natural beauty and charm. Born in London in January 1900, Kernoff moved to Dublin with his family in 1914. While working as an apprentice cabinet maker with his father, the young artist attended classes at the Kevin Street Technical Schools, before moving to the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. In 1923, Kernoff was awarded the Taylor Scholarship and his first solo exhibition was held in the rooms of the Society of Dublin Painters in 1927. Over the following decades, Kernoff dedicated his painting practice to the representation of daily life in Ireland’s towns and cities. Dr Kathryn Milligan August 2022 €10,000-€15,000 (£8,620-£12,930 approx.) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot34