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The Ib Jorgensen Collection 11
th
November 2014
46
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)
Boat with Cargo
Oil on canvas, 44 x 31cm (17.3 x 12.2”)
Provenance: Christie’s, London, Studio Sale, May 10th 2007; with Pyms Gallery, London, catalogue No
7/1998
Born in Dublin in 1882, Mary Swanzy, having been educated at the Lycée Versailles, was open to the
suggestion of her art teacher,May Manning, to travel to Paris to continue her artistic training. In 1905
she enrolled at the atelier of Delacluse, who kept a studio exclusively for women. It was, however, a
short two-week stint at a studio in Valle de Grasse which was to have a lifelong influence on her work:
here she fell under the thrall of Cubism. Whilst in Paris she was fortunate enough to gain access to
Gertrude Stein’s house where, of course, she could study the works of many modern French artists.
Possibly through the good offices of May Manning, she was lucky enough to accompany Sarah Purser
to Paris and they became lifelong friends. Purser said of her work that it was ‘essentially modern and
quite personal in its point of view, though far removed from the freaks of the futurist.The brush work
is sure and swift and the freshness of colour and impression is never lost.’ She travelled extensively
from Czechoslovakia to California, Hawaii to Samoa and always left herself open to experiences and
influences. She bore witness to the aftermath of the First World War in Yugoslavia and Czechoslova-
kia and this made a strong impact on her work.
€1,500 - 2,500