Leo Whelan, R.H.A.

The Artist's Family

Gorry Gallery, Dublin, where acquired by the late Brian P. Burns

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Famille de l'artiste

Gorry Gallery, Dublin, où elle a été acquise par feu Brian P. Burns

Whelan was one of the leading portrait painters in Ireland although the present work depicts a more intimate genre work. Although depicting the artist's niece and painted circa 1940 at the Whelan family home in Dublin, the feeling evoked is of domestic life in a rural cottage at the end of the 19th century. In a sparse room, a young woman sews beside a table placed in front of a fireplace. The earthy tones emphasise the rural setting, while the composition and use of light also reveals the artist's interest in the early Dutch genre masters.