Mary Swanzy Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Mary Swanzy Art Value Price Guide

May. 14, 2025
MARY SWANZY HRHA (1882 - 1978)
Est: €700 - €1,000
Title: Two Artists in Life Class (c.1905) Medium: Pencil & crayon on paper Signature: Unsigned Provenance: The Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin (Label Verso); Private Collection Framed Description An early and insightful work on paper by Mary Swanzy, Two Artists in Life Class depicts a quiet moment in an art studio. In this delicate pencil and crayon drawing (circa 1905), Swanzy sketches two fellow artists absorbed in a life-drawing session. They sit or stand at their easels with sketchpads in hand, their poses captured in swift, sure strokes. The economy of line and touches of crayon bring focus to the figures, while suggesting the outline of a model or studio setting in the background. There is a subtle interplay of observation and creativity here – Swanzy portrays the act of drawing itself as the subject. The informal composition and intimate scale offer a glimpse into the artist’s formative years, before she embarked on the modernist experiments that would later define her career. This rare piece comes with provenance from Pyms Gallery in London, a gallery noted for championing early 20th-century Irish art, adding a layer of historical significance to its ownership.
Sheppards
Mar. 26, 2025
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Pont Du Gard Oil on canvas, 53.3cms x 45.7cms (21 x 18) Signed lower left, and verso Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso Mary Swanzy was a keen traveller for much of her life, so perhaps i
Est: €25,000 - €35,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Pont Du Gard Oil on canvas, 53.3cms x 45.7cms (21 x 18) Signed lower left, and verso Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso Mary Swanzy was a keen traveller for much of her life, so perhaps it is not surprising that she found the inspiration for most of her best work during time spent abroad. That includes a visit to Eastern Europe and, most famously, the South Seas, but also Paris and the South of France (the latter, notably, in 1918). A notably strait-laced individual, her temperament seems at odds with the bohemian circles in which she worked in Paris: she seemed to relax considerably in warmer, more laid-back environments. On her way back from her South Sea trip, stopping off with a friend in Santa Barbara in 1924 to paint for a time, she wrote to Sarah Purser, responding to the idea of visiting Spain: “…for painting, I still long for the tropics.” Perhaps, she suggested, Purser could explore Ceylon with her. “However,” she continues “if one could recapture the rapture of those…days in Provence, one would be tempted.” Van Gogh and, perhaps more than any artist, Cezanne, had established Provence as essential painterly terrain, and Swanzy was recurrently drawn to the South of France, spending time in St Tropez, Grasse and Nimes - the location for this fine painting - and more. Highly regarded in France, she exhibited regularly in avant garden circles. Location and style are often the best way to date her work, and the exceptional freedom and direct observation evident in this work with its atmospheric celebration of warmth and light, seeming to evoke the “rapture” she mentions to Purser, place it apart from her sustained exploration of a form of Orphic Cubism, close to the work of Ukrainian-born Sonia Delaney, (nee Stern) and her husband Robert. It’s reasonable to infer the influence of Cezanne in the colour palette, broad brushstrokes and volumetric organisation of the elements of landscape, with the celebrated Roman aqueduct on the Gardon River mentioned in the title (though the actual structure is simplified in the painting). Born in Dublin (her father was instrumental in establishing the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital), she attended Alexandra College with spells in France, Germany and Switzerland, going on to the Metropolitan School of Art and studies in Paris. Her family envisaged her becoming a portrait painter but she was reluctant if more than capable (society would not take a woman seriously as a portrait painter, she felt). She exhibited widely and consistently even as she travelled. From around 1926 she lived in London while continuing to exhibit in Ireland. Her later work took a dark, allegorical turn, with Surrealist elements and a tendency towards obscure, fantastical symbolism. Aidan Dunne, February 2025
Adam's
Mar. 25, 2025
Mary Swanzy HRHA, Irish 1882-1978 - Street scene with figures and car; pencil crayon on paper,
Est: £300 - £500
Mary Swanzy HRHA, Irish 1882-1978 - Street scene with figures and car; pencil crayon on paper, 25 x 19 cm (ARR) Provenance: with Pyms Gallery, London, stock no.26 (according to the label attached to the reverse of the frame); John Russell Taylor (by repute); private collection Note: Swanzy travelled widely in the early 20th century, working through various styles of Modern painting and becoming one of the first Irish artist to create abstract paintings. She exhibited alongside the other major figures in early Modern Irish painting and had a solo exhibition at the celebrated Galerie Bernheim Jeune in 1925 which drew praise from Gertrude Stein. Promoting her life and work was central to the ethos of Pyms Gallery and most recently she was subject to a major retrospective at the Irish Museum of Modern Art 'Mary Swanzy Voyages' in 2019.
Roseberys
Mar. 25, 2025
Mary Swanzy HRHA, Irish 1882-1978 - Clock by the Sea; pencil crayon on paper, 20.8 x 12.5 cm: t
Est: £300 - £500
Mary Swanzy HRHA, Irish 1882-1978 - Clock by the Sea; pencil crayon on paper, 20.8 x 12.5 cm: together with another work on paper by the same artist of a similar size 'Palm Tree, Honolulu' (2) (ARR) Provenance: Mary Tullo, the artist's niece; Pyms Gallery, London, stock nos. K872 (92/2010) and K830(53/2010) (labels attached to the reverse) Note: Swanzy travelled widely in the early 20th century, working through various styles of Modern painting and becoming one of the first Irish artist to create abstract paintings. She exhibited alongside the other major figures in early Modern Irish painting and had a solo exhibition at the celebrated Galerie Bernheim Jeune in 1925 which drew praise from Gertrude Stein. Promoting her life and work was central to the ethos of Pyms Gallery and most recently she was subject to a major retrospective at the Irish Museum of Modern Art 'Mary Swanzy Voyages' in 2019.
Roseberys
Mar. 03, 2025
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) LA ROUTE
Est: €20,000 - €30,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) LA ROUTE oil on canvas signed lower left; with artist's label and Pyms Gallery label on reverse h:21 w:18 in. Exhibited: 'Mary Swanzy Voyages', IMMA, Dublin, 26 October 2018 to 17 February 2019, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, 15 March to 3 June 2019, Limerick City Gallery, Limerick, 20 June to 15 September 2019 Literature: Kissane, Seán, Mary Swanzy Voyages, IMMA 2018, p. 56 Mary Swanzy was an artist that wasn't burdened with monetary constraints and spent much of the 1920s - when La Route was painted - travelling having gained financial independence with the inheritance from her parents' estate. During this decade she journeyed through central and eastern Europe to Canada, Hawaii and Samoa among other places, returning in between to Paris to exhibit the fruits of her travels. Her output cannot be neatly characterised chronologically based on her style, as demonstrated in this painting which has a distinctly post-impressionistic style. Swanzy did not immediately adopt artistic trends as she encountered them but rather allowed them to percolate and reveal themselves organically through her work. She witnessed the birth of modern art during her early years in Paris where she moved in the same circles as avant-garde collector and early champion of Cubism, Gertrude Stein. La Route shows the influence of Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) to whom she paid homage in an earlier painting - of the subject he made famous - Mont St. Victoire (c.1918). It employs a harmonious palette and like Cézanne objects in the painting are modelled through Swanzy's use of colour. A flattened sense of perspective is reinforced by the road which travels from the lower right foreground, through the composition towards the skyline in the upper portion of the painting guiding the eye in a gentle sweeping motion. La Route bears similarity to a number of other French scenes by Mary Swanzy dated to the 1920s and was exhibited in her celebrated retrospective exhibition 'Voyages' at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin in 2018/2019. A full-page illustration of this painting was included in the monograph which accompanied that show. Although the precise location of the scene is not given the other examples include a view of the ancient Roman aqueduct bridge, Pont du Gard, in southern France and a skyline in Semur. Adelle Hughes, February 2025
Whyte's
Jan. 28, 2025
Style of Mary Swanzy (1882 - 1978)
Est: $400 - $600
Style of Mary Swanzy (1882 - 1978) Oil on Board "Cubist Still Life" Unsigned. Measures 26" x 24". Frame measures 31-1/4" x 29". Condition: Good condition. Estimate 400 - 600 Domestic shipping Third party
Orion Antiques
Nov. 26, 2024
Mary Swanzy HRHA, Artist with sketch pad
Est: £300 - £500
Mary Swanzy HRHA, Irish 1882-1978 - Artist with sketch pad; pencil crayon on paper, 16.2 x 9.8 cm: together with another work on paper by the same artist of the same size of a woman in blue (2) (ARR) Provenance: Mary Tullo, the artist's niece; Pyms Gallery, London, stock nos. K826(49/2010) and K830(53/2010) (labels attached to the reverse) Note: Swanzy travelled widely in the early 20th century, working through various styles of Modern painting and becoming one of the first Irish artist to create abstract paintings. She exhibited alongside the other major figures in early Modern Irish painting and had a solo exhibition at the celebrated Galerie Bernheim Jeune in 1925 which drew praise from Gertrude Stein. Promoting her life and work was central to the ethos of Pyms Gallery and most recently she was subject to a major retrospective at the Irish Museum of Modern Art 'Mary Swanzy Voyages' in 2019.
Roseberys
Nov. 19, 2024
MARY SWANZY, H.R.H.A. (1882-1978). The Day of Judgement. oil on canvas laid
Est: £8,000 - £12,000
MARY SWANZY, H.R.H.A. (1882-1978). The Day of Judgement. oil on canvas laid on board 16 7⁄8 x 24 7⁄8 in. (41.5 x 63.1 cm.).
Christie's
Nov. 19, 2024
MARY SWANZY, H.R.H.A. (1882-1978). The Storm. oil on canvas 18 x 21 1⁄8 in.
Est: £15,000 - £25,000
MARY SWANZY, H.R.H.A. (1882-1978). The Storm. oil on canvas 18 x 21 1⁄8 in. (45.7 x 53.6 cm.).
Christie's
Nov. 19, 2024
MARY SWANZY, H.R.H.A. (1882-1978). Nude Study, Samoa. oil on canvas 18 x 21
Est: £20,000 - £30,000
MARY SWANZY, H.R.H.A. (1882-1978). Nude Study, Samoa. oil on canvas 18 x 21 ½ in. (45.7 x 54.6 cm.).
Christie's
Nov. 19, 2024
MARY SWANZY, H.R.H.A. (1882-1978). Female Nudes with Horse and Viaduct. oil
Est: £30,000 - £50,000
MARY SWANZY, H.R.H.A. (1882-1978). Female Nudes with Horse and Viaduct. oil on canvas 30 x 25 in. (76.2 x 63.5 cm.).
Christie's
Sep. 30, 2024
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) THE WHITE BIRD, 1941-2
Est: €15,000 - €20,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) THE WHITE BIRD, 1941-2 oil on canvas signed and dated [41] lower left; titled, dated [42] and numbered [13] on label on reverse h:20 w:24 in. Provenance: de Veres, 7 April 2008, lot 128; Private collection Much of Mary Swanzy's work of the 1940s can be described as dark in nature. It is a period within her oeuvre which includes both the "grotesque" and the "fantastical" - drawing comparisons with Goya - as well as depictions of deep despair in response to war. The White Bird, however, which is dated 1941-1942, hovers above the gloom and offers the viewer some light and relief. After her home in London was bombed in 1942 Mary Swanzy returned to Dublin to live with her younger sister Muriel in St Brendan's in Coolock for three years and it was around this time she painted a contemporary to the present painting, Clown by Candlelight (Collection of National Gallery of Ireland, NGI 1415) which has been described as "her visual response to the troubled mid-war period, and to her own hopes and uncertainty about the future."(1) The White Bird might be read in much the same way. Colour is used to dramatic effect in this painting, which is broken into three parts. The ominous landscape in the foreground recalls the jagged red hills from another work of the period, Hindu Ascetic, 1942 (sold Whyte's 4 October 2010, lot 101, Private collection). Here the clashing red and blue/green tones reinforce the threatening nature of this terrain while the fluid movement of line and colour simultaneously draws the eye into the composition, while also appearing to spew out beyond the picture plane. The golden glow of the opening to the center is the enigmatic focal point. The flattened vertical brush strokes here serve to draw the eye upwards where stratus clouds stretch the width of the canvas punctuated only by a single white bird in mid flight. The 'peace dove' - as it might be interpreted - and the apocalyptic nature of landscape lends a biblical quality to the scene, a modern, and more optimistic perhaps, take on Francis Danby's The Opening of the Sixth Seal, 1828 (Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, NGI no. 162, purchased in 1871). However, unlike the horror of Danby's painting, here there is no human suffering visible. Whether an eruption has taken place or is yet to come is unclear. Given the dread and uncertainty that gripped the world at the time of its composition, Swanzy's typically non prescriptive title seems even more appropriate. Adelle Hughes, September 2024 Footnote: 1 http://onlinecollection.nationalgallery.ie/objects/2804/clown-by-candlelight
Whyte's
Sep. 30, 2024
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) THE PEARL NECKLACE, 1943
Est: €12,000 - €18,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) THE PEARL NECKLACE, 1943 oil on canvas signed and dated lower left; with Jorgensen Fine Art label on reverse h:21.25 w:18.25 in. Provenance: Jorgensen Fine Art, Dublin; Private collection
Whyte's
May. 27, 2024
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) IN THE WINDOW, 1920s
Est: €60,000 - €80,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) IN THE WINDOW, 1920s oil on canvas signed lower left; with artist's label and Dawson Gallery label on reverse h:24 w:20 in. Provenance: Dawson Gallery, Dublin; Private collection; Adam's, 5 December 2006, lot 29; Private collection Exhibited: 'Mary Swanzy, Voyages', IMMA, Dublin, 26 October 2018 to 17 February 2019, travelling to Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, 15 March to 3 June and Limerick City Gallery of Art, 20 June to 15 September 2019 Literature: Mary Swanzy Voyages, IMMA, Dublin, 2019, p. 106 (illustrated) In the Window was included in the celebrated retrospective exhibition 'Mary Swanzy Voyages' at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2018/2019. Curated by Seán Kissane, this show travelled to the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork as well as to Limerick City Gallery of Art with the ambition to reintroduce audiences to her extraordinary achievements and reinstate her as a Modern Irish Master. This painting is an important example from Swanzy's oeuvre, which brings together on canvas a number of artistic movements she absorbed and was inspired by first hand. The Voyages catalogue notes how, "Swanzy's acquaintance with Gertrude Stein is of key importance in assessing the influence of other movements on her style. Although she [Swanzy] stressed that artists like Picasso were 'just little people like myself' in 1905 when she first went to Paris; by 1911 he was the acknowledged 'inventor' of Cubism, an opinion strongly voiced by Stein. Stein owned a portrait of her done, by Picasso, in 1906 at around the time she and Swanzy first met. Importantly in 1909 she purchased Picasso's painting Horta de Ebro and it hung in her apartment where Swanzy would have seen it soon after. The series of works from which Horta de Ebro emerged gave rise to the term 'Cubism'..." [1] Being present at the genesis of one of the most influential movements in art history left its mark on Mary Swanzy but it did not define her and she did not religiously pursue Cubism as her sole visual language. The fact that she made and exhibited most of her Cubist-inspired works after 1920 could be seen perhaps as evidence that she did not simply accept, imitate and reproduce but rather allowed these stimuli to percolate before formulating her unique take on the trend. Furthermore, the artist's interest in, or attraction to, the shattering of light, shape, colour and composition could have had earlier origins; her father - Sir Henry Rosborough Swanzy (1843–1913) - was a prominent ophthalmic surgeon in Dublin so it is perhaps fair to assume she would have had some familiarity already with the workings of the human eye. The present still life comprises a lamp with a conical shade next to a leafy plant in a white pot situated on a window sill. It shows the influence of not just Cubism but its offshoots; Orphism, Italian Futurism and British Vorticism. The lamp, as well as elements of the background, call to mind the shapes of stairs, towers and skyscrapers, all subjects favoured by these groups of artists and subjects which Swanzy explored in other paintings. The centre of the plant acts like a vortex from which movement in the composition is generated; its foliage acting like rotors and recalling her later work Propellers, 1942 (Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland). In the upper right corner stripes of pink, red and yellow part to reveal a landscape in the distance. This vignette comprises a Continental view; trees, blue skies and whitewashed houses with red roofs typical of her French scenes such as Le Village, c.1925 (Private collection) but also calling to mind the Fauvist André Derain's View of Cagnes, 1910 (Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany). In the Window moves the viewer beyond the confines of still life or Cubism taking the eye on a visual journey that traces the trends that inspired her most at this juncture in her career. The Voyages catalogue - an illustrated monograph which accompanied the IMMA exhibition - includes a full-page reproduction of this painting. Adelle Hughes, April 2024 [1] Mary Swanzy Voyages, IMMA, Dublin, 2019, p.96
Whyte's
Dec. 12, 2023
Â§ MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978)
Est: £800 - £1,200
Â§ MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978) MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978) The Fruit Seller crayon 20.3 x 12.1 cm. (8 x 4 7/8 in.) together with; Gutting Fish crayon 20.3 x 11.7 cm. (8 x 4 5/8 in.) Provenance Acquired directly from the artistâs estate With Pyms Gallery, London
Chiswick Auctions
Dec. 12, 2023
Â§ MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978)
Est: £800 - £1,200
Â§ MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978) MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978) The Sailor crayon 20.5 x 12.5 cm. (8 1/8 x 5 in.) together with; Men at Work III crayon 20.3 x 11.5 cm. (8 x 4 5/8 in.) (2) Provenance Acquired directly from the artistâs estate With Pyms Gallery, London
Chiswick Auctions
Dec. 12, 2023
Â§ MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978)
Est: £800 - £1,200
Â§ MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978) MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978) Group of Fishermen crayon 20.3 x 11.7 cm. (8 x 4 5/8 in.) together with; Figures on the Beach crayon 12.2 x 20.3 cm. (4 7/8 x 8 in.) Provenance Acquired directly from the artistâs estate With Pyms Gallery, London
Chiswick Auctions
Dec. 12, 2023
Â§ MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978)
Est: £800 - £1,200
Â§ MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978) MARY SWANZY (IRISH, 1882-1978) Man with Rucksack Smoking crayon 21.1 x 12.1 cm. (8 1/8 x 4 3/4 in.) together with; Men Watching crayon 12.5 x 20.5 cm. (4 7/8 x 8 1/8 in.) Provenance Acquired directly from the artistâs estate With Pyms Gallery, London
Chiswick Auctions
Dec. 04, 2023
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) SUR LE BORD DE LA FORÊT [ON THE EDGE OF THE FOREST]
Est: €25,000 - €35,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) SUR LE BORD DE LA FORÊT [ON THE EDGE OF THE FOREST] oil on canvas signed lower left; inscribed with title in French and numbered [5] on canvas on reverse; also titled (in English) on Dawson Gallery label on reverse; a second label verso shows title in English, date [1961] and number [4] h:30 w:25 in. Provenance: Dawson Gallery, Dublin; Whence purchased by Mrs Jamieson; Her sale, Thomas Adams, Blackrock; Private collection Exhibited: 'Mary Swanzy, Voyages', IMMA, Dublin, 26 October 2018 to 17 February 2019 Literature: Mary Swanzy Voyages, IMMA, Dublin, 2019, p. 135 (illustrated) Sur le Bord de la Forêt [On The Edge of The Forest] was included in the 2018 landmark retrospective exhibition - Voyages - at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), which described Mary Swanzy as 'arguably Ireland's first 'Modernist' painter'. In the Voyages exhibition catalogue the painting comes under the heading of 'Surrealism', a chapter which opens with a quote from The Times on 26 September 1934: "Miss Swanzy may be described as a Surrealist working in a Cubist Convention... the majority of her works look as if they were an illustration of a disordered dream." There is a distinctly dreamlike feel to Sur le Bord de la Forêt. Similar to other works of this period c.1950-1960s the artist employs a technique of translucent layering of paint which allows the subject, in this case a nude female figure, to be both an entity in her own right but also inextricably linked to her surroundings as if seen through a veil. In his catalogue essay for Voyages, curator Seán Kissane examines Swanzy's 'brand' of Surrealism within the context of her European contemporaries Max Ernest, René Magritte and Salvador Dalí in Paris in the 1930s, whose work can be described as "provocatively sexual" and how "...Many female artists distanced themselves from Surrealism because of what they perceived as its inherent misogyny, or because they were excluded from full participation by their male counterparts." He continues, "Swanzy's work at times can be described as feminist or gendered but almost never sexual... Naked female bodies are symbolist works like Au bord de la Foret [the present work]... but they have a dreamlike quality. The bodies are transparent and ethereal - not really of this world." Sur le Bord de la Forêt, like most of Swanzy's oeuvre, is a fusion of multiple influences. She did not just adopt a new style of painting when she encountered it, she absorbed it, digested it, took from it what most pleased her and created something far more personal and unique. Swanzy travelled widely throughout her life, she experienced different cultures, traditions, religions, art and histories all of which impacted her work and no doubt her outlook on life. When it came to interpreting, describing or titling her work she was often non prescriptive. Voyages notes, "Swanzy is interested in narratives, in story-telling; she is also very interested in how her pictures are received when they enter the homes of her collectors...As she said to Andy O'Mahony, 'I'd like very much to be able to see what people have done with my paintings. I give my paintings names, because I'm told I have to for the catalogues. But I'd very much like to know how the people who have them have christened them, what they meant to them. It's very interesting, to see how people react to certain pictures'." In many ways Sur le Bord de la Forêt calls to mind Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus c.1484-1486 (Uffizi, Florence). The long haired, Classical nude, the scallop shell, the forest and water. Swanzy's nude however appears seated comfortably within the forest, unlike Venus who stands exposed in a giant scallop shell on the water's edge, and, in contrast to the Hora of Spring who rushes to cover Venus with a cloak, Swanzy's female sits comfortably on hers allowing her chest to be fully seen and her long hair to rest behind her shoulders. She guards her shell, almost shielding it from the light which emanates from beyond the forest opening and waits cross legged and quietly confident. Between 1951 and 1968, when her Dublin Retrospective took place, Voyages catalogue notes there is no record of an exhibition for Mary Swanzy and little is known of her life during these 17 years. Her passport records she continued to travel visiting Switzerland, Germany and Italy in the early 1950s. Perhaps she visited the Uffizi during these years and the present work was the result of a "disordered dream" after Botticelli or, more likely, it is this viewer's imagined narrative inspired by our shared 'female gaze'. Adelle Hughes, November 2023
Whyte's
Sep. 27, 2023
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) The Park Oil on board, 15 x 36cm (6 x 14¼) Provenance: 'The Mary Swanzy Studio Sale, May 2007' stamp verso
Est: €1,500 - €2,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) The Park Oil on board, 15 x 36cm (6 x 14¼) Provenance: 'The Mary Swanzy Studio Sale, May 2007' stamp verso
Adam's
May. 31, 2023
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Boat Anchored with Three Figures Working Pastel on paper, 19 x 25cm (7½ x 9¾) Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso, stock no. 84
Est: €800 - €1,200
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Boat Anchored with Three Figures Working Pastel on paper, 19 x 25cm (7½ x 9¾) Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso, stock no. 84
Adam's
May. 31, 2023
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Crowd Relaxing Outside a Church Pastel on paper, 19 x 25cm (7½ x 9¾) Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso
Est: €800 - €1,200
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Crowd Relaxing Outside a Church Pastel on paper, 19 x 25cm (7½ x 9¾) Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso
Adam's
May. 29, 2023
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) FLOWER MARKET
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) FLOWER MARKET oil on canvas signed lower right; signed and titled on reverse h:18 w:14 in. Provenance: Adam's, 23 March 2016, lot 20; Private collection Exhibited: 'Irish Women Artists 1870-1970', Adam's, Dublin, July 2014 and AVA Gallery, Clandeboye August to September 2014, catalogue no. 24
Whyte's
Mar. 06, 2023
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) THE BUSINESSMAN
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) THE BUSINESSMAN oil on board with Pyms Gallery [London] label on reverse h:10 w:7 in. Provenance: Pyms Gallery, London; Private collection; Whyte's, 19 February 2007, lot 57; Private collection
Whyte's
Mar. 06, 2023
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) KING AND QUEEN and SELF-PORTRAIT WITH PAINT TUBE, c.1976
Est: €1,000 - €1,500
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) KING AND QUEEN and SELF-PORTRAIT WITH PAINT TUBE, c.1976 mixed media with oil on paper; (works on obverse and reverse) signed lower right on obverse; inscribed with titles and media on frame on reverse h:8.50 w:11 in.
Whyte's
Dec. 07, 2022
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Portrait of Mary St. Claire Swanzy Tullo (1933) Oil on board, 50.8 x 44.4cm (20 x 17½) Signed and dated Sep. (19)'33
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Portrait of Mary St. Claire Swanzy Tullo (1933) Oil on board, 50.8 x 44.4cm (20 x 17½) Signed and dated Sep. (19)'33
Adam's
Nov. 28, 2022
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) BY THE POOL, 1962
Est: €20,000 - €30,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) BY THE POOL, 1962 oil on canvas signed lower left; titled and dated on label on reverse h:21 w:18 in. Provenance: Adam's, June 1975, lot 29; Private collection Although By The Pool dates to 1962 - a period in Mary Swanzy's oeuvre characterised by satire and the fantastical - the present work in terms of its style and subject matter does not neatly fall into this category but rather appears to draw on elements of different phases from earlier in her career. Very few details are known of Swanzy's life during the period 1951 to 1968 (when her Dublin retrospective took place). She did however continue to travel visiting Switzerland, Germany and Italy and was in Pisa in 1962 the year this work was executed. The present work shows the influence of Italy on many levels. Here the viewer is presented with an outdoor scene comprising a large, muscular Madonna and child in the foreground while behind her is a pool enclosed by Classical architectural elements which recall her red roofs of the 1910s. The figures of three women (three Graces perhaps) and a long-eared dog are positioned to the left of the water, while opposite them is a large-leafed tree reminiscent of those luscious fronds of her Samoan paintings. The transparent layering of the paint and swift brushstrokes call to mind the Futurism movement which impacted her work from the 1920s onwards and in the present work this adds a dynamism which it might otherwise be lacking. By The Pool is a testament to Mary Swanzy's unique absorption of Modernism. Unlike many of her contemporaries she did not fully commit to any one style to the exclusion of others, she consumed it all and created her own visual language which, much like the Mannerist Madonna in the foreground, is experimental and unapologetic. Adelle Hughes, November 2022
Whyte's
Mar. 30, 2022
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Figures Gossiping Oil on Canvas 30 x 50cm (11¾ x 19¾) Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso. * Lots 10 - 12 (incl) may be subject to importation charges.
Est: €8,000 - €12,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Figures Gossiping Oil on Canvas 30 x 50cm (11¾ x 19¾) Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso. * Lots 10 - 12 (incl) may be subject to importation charges.
Adam's
Mar. 30, 2022
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Olive Trees in Walled Fields Pastel on paper 18.5 x 25cm (7¼ x 9¾) Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso. * Lots 10 - 12 (incl) may be subject to importation charges.
Est: €1,000 - €1,500
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Olive Trees in Walled Fields Pastel on paper 18.5 x 25cm (7¼ x 9¾) Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso. * Lots 10 - 12 (incl) may be subject to importation charges.
Adam's
Mar. 30, 2022
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) A Heavenly Laden Fishing Vessel Pastel on paper 16.5 x 25cm (6½ x 9¾) Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso. * Lots 10 - 12 (incl) may be subject to importation charges.
Est: €1,000 - €1,500
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) A Heavenly Laden Fishing Vessel Pastel on paper 16.5 x 25cm (6½ x 9¾) Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso. * Lots 10 - 12 (incl) may be subject to importation charges.
Adam's
Dec. 08, 2021
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Cubist Landscape, Trees, Houses Oil on canvas, 34 x 47.5cm (13¼ x 18½'') Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso; With Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin, from where purchased by the current owner. Ma
Est: €20,000 - €30,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Cubist Landscape, Trees, Houses Oil on canvas, 34 x 47.5cm (13¼ x 18½'') Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, label verso; With Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin, from where purchased by the current owner. Mary Swanzy 1882-1978 was introduced to Picasso's early cubist paintings in 1906 in Paris at Gertrude Stein's home. She was one of the first Irish painters to investigate the new way of seeing, not for her the school of André Lhote or Albert Gleizes, the masters who informed the important work of subsequent Irish cubists Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone. In the 1920s she regarded herself primarily as a landscape painter and here in Cubist landscape, trees, houses we see her unique interpretation of the major modernist trend. Her use of dynamic, elliptical shapes alongside diagonals creates an energy and movement in this painting reminiscent of Italian Futurist paintings of a similar period. Swanzy's facility for beautifully balancing colour with form creates a distinct tension. While her continued use of perspective, against the laws of cubism, creates a sense of depth, despite the flattened picture plane. As with so many of her cubist paintings Swanzy's love of mathematics especially the geometry of her native Georgian city is very much in evidence. Liz Cullinane, 2021
Adam's
Sep. 29, 2021
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Cote de Donegal Oil on canvas, 43.5 x 52cm (17 x 20½'') Signed; inscribed verso
Est: €5,000 - €8,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Cote de Donegal Oil on canvas, 43.5 x 52cm (17 x 20½'') Signed; inscribed verso
Adam's
Sep. 29, 2021
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Street Parade, Czechoslovakia Coloured pencil, 19.5 x 25cm Provenance: The Artist's Studio; Collection of Antoinette & Patrick J. Murphy
Est: €2,000 - €3,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Street Parade, Czechoslovakia Coloured pencil, 19.5 x 25cm Provenance: The Artist's Studio; Collection of Antoinette & Patrick J. Murphy
Adam's
Sep. 29, 2021
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Townscape with Palm Trees Coloured pencil, 25.5 x 17cm (10 x 6¾) Provenance: The Artist's Studio; Collection of Antoinette & Patrick J. Murphy
Est: €1,500 - €2,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Townscape with Palm Trees Coloured pencil, 25.5 x 17cm (10 x 6¾) Provenance: The Artist's Studio; Collection of Antoinette & Patrick J. Murphy
Adam's
Jun. 02, 2021
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) - The Pink House
Est: €6,000 - €10,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) The Pink House Oil on board, 45 x 27.5cm (17¾ x 10¾'') Signed Starting Bid: € 4200
Adam's
Jun. 02, 2021
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) - Fishing Boat Moored
Est: €1,000 - €1,500
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Fishing Boat Moored Coloured Pencil, 17 x 25cm (7 x 10'') Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London. Starting Bid: € 700
Adam's
Jun. 02, 2021
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) - Busy Harbour Scene
Est: €1,000 - €1,500
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Busy Harbour Scene Coloured Pencil, 19.5 x 25.5cm (7½ x 9¾'') Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London; Christie's, London, 'The Mary Swanzy Studio Sale', May 2007. Starting Bid: € 700
Adam's
May. 31, 2021
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) THE SHIP INN
Est: €3,500 - €4,500
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) THE SHIP INN oil on board signed lower left; with Dawson Gallery label on reverse h:10.50 w:15 in.
Whyte's
Dec. 09, 2020
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Cat in the Suburbs Oil on board, 50 x 60cm (20 x 24'') Exhibited: Mary Swanzy Retrospective, Hugh Lane Gallery, June 1968, Cat. No. 65 The image of a white cat appears in several pictures by Swanzy, including 'The
Est: €8,000 - €12,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Cat in the Suburbs Oil on board, 50 x 60cm (20 x 24'') Exhibited: Mary Swanzy Retrospective, Hugh Lane Gallery, June 1968, Cat. No. 65 The image of a white cat appears in several pictures by Swanzy, including 'The Clown', 'Cat on the Terrace' and the present picture, suggesting that she may have owned such a pet in her later life, or remembered it from her childhood. Her view in all these pictures is plainly one of affection. 'Cat on a Terrace' included in the Mary Swanzy Exhibition at The Dawson Gallery in 1974, shows the animal sleeping, head resting on a ledge, facing towards the viewer, with its tail curled beside it. The sleeping cat in the present picture is viewed from the side. Its tail is curled beside it, but its front paw it tucked op, so that its pink pads are visible. It is evidently a particular cat for it has slight tortoiseshell markings on its head, and a pink collar with a golf bell around its neck. The cracked gatepost on which the cat sits, and the crumbling gateposts and wall with faded posters behind the old village, and neglected orchard of trees, are suggestive of neglect and decay, of times passed and memories of earlier days: perhaps a crumbling demesne which Swanzy remembered from her childhood in Ireland or from life in England, combined with a pretty Mediterranean or Balkan village with red and blue roofs, and orchards, remembered from her travels after the First World War. In spite of the friendly cat in the foreground, there is a faded, nostalgic mood, empty of people telling of other days, the losses of War, and the departure of friends. The run down setting is contrasted by the straight lines of the avenue that runs into the distance. Swanzy employs a soft palette of whites, pale pinks, yellows, pale greens and reds, to convey a faded dreamy atmosphere. 'Cat in the Suburbs' was included in the large Mary Swanzy Retrospective Exhibition held at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin in 1968. Julian Campbell
Adam's
Oct. 27, 2020
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Sleep Walker (1941)
Est: €8,000 - €12,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Sleep Walker (1941) oil on canvas signed lower right and dated '41 h:46 w:53.50 cm. Provenance: Christie's, London, Artist's Studio Sale, 10th May 2007, Lot 320; Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin (label verso); Private Collection Born into a comfortable though strict Dublin household - her titled father was instrumental in establishing the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital and the family home was on Merrion Sq - Mary Swanzy blossomed in the nourishing environment of Alexandra College. Theatre and art were her early enthusiasms. In time she came to concentrate on art and John Butler Yeats was among her teachers. Sarah Purser became a friend, and encouraged her to study in Paris, where she was a hard-working, dutiful student. Prompted towards becoming a professional portrait painter by her father, she gave it a try and was very capable, but did not warm to it. Her parents' death left her sad but gave her financial independence and she opted to travel. She also worked hard and established herself as a painter. In 1920, the turbulent political situation in Ireland spurred her to travel again, quite extensively. Most famously, she gravitated towards the tropics and visited Honolulu and Samoa, relishing the warmth, light, colour and sensuality, all of which enriched her work. Rather than returning to Dublin, she opted to settle in London (while spending several of the war years in Dublin with one of her sisters). By 1941, she had experimented with aspects of the trends in art of the Machine Age, Expressionism and even Surrealism, to varying effect. Sleep Walker, with its allegorical elements, including the nude sonambulist, a shattered urn, portfolios, a concentric globe and allusions to time and loss, vividly deployed in a manner that recalls the graphic decisiveness of Max Beckmann's work, is an especially successful synthesis of all of these influences plus the continuity of her French training. It is also personally expressive in a way that is quite rare in her output. Aidan Dunne, October 2020
Morgan O'Driscoll
Oct. 19, 2020
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) PREPARING THE MEAL, SAMOA, circa 1919-25
Est: €30,000 - €50,000
signed lower right, inscribed label on reverse and with studio stamp on stretcher
Whyte's
Sep. 29, 2020
Mary Swanzy, H.R.H.A. (1882-1978) - Pink-roofed town, France
Est: £6,000 - £8,000
Mary Swanzy, H.R.H.A. (1882-1978) Pink-roofed town, France oil on canvas 16 ¾ x 20 7/8 in. (42.5 x 53 cm.)
Christie's
Dec. 04, 2019
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)Crouching Figure with Bowed HeadOil on canvas, 51 x 61cm (20 x 24'')Signed and dated (19)'41Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, Catalogue No.52.
Est: €10,000 - €15,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)Crouching Figure with Bowed HeadOil on canvas, 51 x 61cm (20 x 24'')Signed and dated (19)'41Provenance: With Pyms Gallery, London, Catalogue No.52.
Adam's
Dec. 02, 2019
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) SUR LE BORD DE LA FORET [FIGURE WITH SHELL]
Est: €30,000 - €35,000
signed lower left; inscribed with title in French and numbered [5] on canvas on reverse; also titled (in English) on Dawson Gallery label on reverse; a second label verso shows title in English, date [1961] and number [4]
Whyte's
Oct. 23, 2019
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)Death of a MannequinOil on board, 42 x 23cm (16½ x 9)Signed and dated (19)'44Provenance: With The Dawson Gallery, Dublin.The impact of the third war in Swanzys lifetime and the shifting post-war social conditions b
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)Death of a MannequinOil on board, 42 x 23cm (16½ x 9)Signed and dated (19)'44Provenance: With The Dawson Gallery, Dublin.The impact of the third war in Swanzys lifetime and the shifting post-war social conditions became the focus of her brush from the mid forties into the 1960s. In the manner of Blake or Hogarth she adopts a commentary on declining standards of behavior as evidenced in this painting of the mannequin, a theme she revisited in a number of paintings. Her views on the limits placed on women were forthright in late old age when she stated her life would have been very different had she been a Henry and not a Mary.Liz Cullinane, September 2019
Adam's
Oct. 23, 2019
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)The Temple Offering (1943)Oil on canvas, 75 x 63cm (29½ x 24¾)SignedProvenance: With The Dawson Gallery, 1974.Exhibited: Cork, ROSC 1980, 'Irish Art 1943-1973'.Temple Offerings was completed in the Coolock home of
Est: €15,000 - €25,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)The Temple Offering (1943)Oil on canvas, 75 x 63cm (29½ x 24¾)SignedProvenance: With The Dawson Gallery, 1974.Exhibited: Cork, ROSC 1980, 'Irish Art 1943-1973'.Temple Offerings was completed in the Coolock home of Muriel Tullo, Swanzys younger sister, where the artist relocated from 1942-1945 to avoid the wartime bombing in London. It was a highly productive period for her having been absent from Ireland for almost twenty years. She re-engaged in the cultural life of her native city, as a founder member of the Dublin Painters Society in 1920, exhibiting frequently in the Stephens Green gallery on her return. Swanzys painting evolved during this period into a rich narrative, often allegorical style. In many respects it was the period, which saw her find her own voice, which she rarely moved away from for the remainder of her eighty-year career or hobby as she termed it in a somewhat acidic comment on her status as a female painter.In Temple Offerings she layers her images using thin glazes that create a translucent and delicate quality while her use of colour becomes quite heated and intense, similar almost to stained glass. At the same time she lends a sculptural quality to the modeling of her classical figures, landscapes and architecture, birds are frequently seen in this work. Her referencing of the classical world is broad and inclusive of many global traditions; Celtic deities appeared to mankind as birds and doves and pigeons were considered sacred. Her friend Evie Hone was known to have admired this work greatly.Liz Cullinane, September 2019
Adam's
Oct. 23, 2019
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)The Italian GirlOil on board, 30 x 25cm (12 x 9¾)SignedProvenance: The artist's studio.Mary Swanzy intended to settle in Florence following the death of her father in 1913 however, she was forced to return to Dublin
Est: €5,000 - €7,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)The Italian GirlOil on board, 30 x 25cm (12 x 9¾)SignedProvenance: The artist's studio.Mary Swanzy intended to settle in Florence following the death of her father in 1913 however, she was forced to return to Dublin with the outbreak of war. This painting underlines her constant faith in the old masters, the great men as she called them. The Italian Girl is reminiscent of Vermeers Girl with the Pearl Earring 1665 while also sharing ground with Swanzys contemporary Modigliani (1814-1920). Building on the characteristics typical of Mannerist paintings that elongated figures for emotional effect Swanzy relies on her drawing, outlining the features in her assured line while the modeling of the figure is loose and sketchy in style. The heavier greens at the outer edges of the composition create a dramatic focus for the figure whose gaze is focused away from the viewer not typical of Swanzys portraits. She creates a strong presence with the figure filling the frame using the headdress to balance the composition with its hotspots of pure cadmium yellow generating lights in a very traditional manner. As in all genres of painting Swanzy undertakes, she exacts a personal exploration of style rather than being influenced by any single oeuvre.Liz Cullinane, September 2019
Adam's
Oct. 23, 2019
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)The Three Ages of Woman (c.1970)Oil on canvas, 75 x 62cm (29½ x 24¼)Exhibited: Taylor Galleries, Dublin, solo exhibition, 1986, from where purchased.This was the last painting on the artist's easel before her death.
Est: €20,000 - €30,000
Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978)The Three Ages of Woman (c.1970)Oil on canvas, 75 x 62cm (29½ x 24¼)Exhibited: Taylor Galleries, Dublin, solo exhibition, 1986, from where purchased.This was the last painting on the artist's easel before her death.Mary Swanzys facility for drawing with her brush and extensive understanding of colour sings of the three ages of woman in this work; it is likely to refer to her own life given she was in her late eighties when it was completed. Titled by the current owner with Miss Swanzys knowledge, as she disliked naming her work preferring to see what others would make of the paintings.The central Pierrot figure, a clown or everyman character whose main characteristic is of naïveté is dressed in white, a reference to death perhaps in this case as Swanzy contemplates her own end of life. It echoes a number of earlier works that feature Chinese or Japanese figures. Swanzy revered Chinese painting and her interest in world religions is in evidence from as early as the 1920s. As she became more limited in her ability to travel so her immediate surroundings feature more heavily in her later paintings. The shed was in the garden of the Blackheath home and the little green cat, a porcelain figure from her collection. Her use of the fox may be a reference to her regular use of the term as cute as a fox to describe characters in her knowledge. She remained astute and observant all through her life. The use of animal imagery is a common feature in her paintings from the 1940s; she uses them to build metaphors in the narrative. Her father is recorded as having used animal metaphors in his speech so perhaps a lifelong habit of indirect speech continued in Swanzys painting.The lively handling of the paint and directional strokes of pure pigment has a freshness and immediacy akin to watercolour in the hands of a master. Swanzy died in 1978 in her nineties painting right up to her death despite arthritis requiring her to tape her brushes to her fingers. Liz Cullinane, September 2019
Adam's