Adam's Important Irish Art September 26th 2018

64 55 NORAH MCGUINNESS HRHA (1901-1980) Sunflowers, Algarve Coast Oil on board, 56 x 71cm (22 x 28’’) Signed In the summer of 1961 Norah McGuinness stayed in the Algarve where she produced several paintings. Six of these were included in her successful solo exhibition staged at the Dawson Gallery that autumn. This work is similar to other Portuguese landscapes such In the Algarve (1961, Private Collection) and dates to this time. According to a con- temporary account, the artist found the soaring temperatures in Portugal so extreme that she cut short her stay to return to the cool of her studio in the Dublin Mountains. (1) This colourful work takes in a panoramic view of the Portuguese coastline dominated by a castellated hilltop town with whitewashed walls in the distance. To its left the Sier- ra is made of strange conical mountains. In the foreground a peasant woman, wearing traditional black and a large hat, carries a basket. The figure emphasises the timeworn nature of everyday life in Portugal, confirming a touristic idea of the country as remote and untouched by modernity. By contrast below on the yellow sands of a cliff lined beach, the tiny figures of sun-bathers and holidaymakers are visible. The dried out form of a large sunflower dominates the left-hand foreground. The motif, which McGuinness also uses in In the Algarve, denotes the overwhelming power of the sun, as does the burnt orange of the scorched terrain in which it grows. McGuinness’s combination of strong oranges and yellows and the deep blues of the sea and sky impart a sense of the exotic beauty of the Algarve. As in her views of Ireland, the artist applies a cubist inspired lens to the composition. The paint is applied in small rectangular patches and subtle repetition of geometric forms articulates the landscape. Róisín Kennedy, August 2018 1. ‘Irishwoman’s Diary’, Irish Times, 10 November 1961, p.10. € 20,000 - 30,000