54
32
William John Leech RHA (1881-1968)
Windowsill
Oil on board, 38 x 45.7cm (15 x 18”)
Signed
Provenance: Pyms Gallery, London; Adam’s, Important Irish Art Sale, 28th March 2007,
Lot no. 56 where purchased by current owner.
This was the view from Candy Cottage in West Clandon where Leech and his wife retired to
in their seventies. Denise Ferran, in her 1996 National Gallery of Ireland Leech Exhibition
catalogue writes: “Even in his late seventies, the intensity of light and vibrancy of colour
attained in his canvases ... testify to his undiminished ability as an artist. He paints with the
assurance and knowledge acquired from over fifty years of painting. In bad weather, Leech
painted still lifes and portraits as well as views out of his studio window’.
The composition here is reminiscent of many of the artist’s still lifes with a strong diagonal
disecting the image.The posy of colourful flowers on the windowsill and the acute angle of
view are Leech hallmarks but in this picture the diamond panel windows are shrouded with
heavy net curtains which reflect the pattern of the red check tablecloth. This painting of a
very ordinary subject shows the artist’s highly evolved sense of colour and pattern- produc-
ing a work of great sophistication and subtlety.
We would like to acknowledge Dr. Denise Ferran, whose research and writings formed the
basis of this catalgoue entry.
€10,000 - 15,000
