Seán Keating PRHA (1889-1977)
Portrait of Movita
Charcoal and pastel, 27 x 29cm (shaped) (10½ x 11½'')
Signed

Maria "Movita" Castaneda was a Mexican actress who starred in numerous...

Seán Keating PRHA (1889-1977)
Portrait of Movita
Charcoal and pastel, 27 x 29cm (shaped) (10½ x 11½'')
Signed

Maria "Movita" Castaneda was a Mexican actress who starred in numerous Hollywood films including "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935) and the John Wayne Western "Fort Apache" (1948).

Motiva came to Ireland in the 1940s as the singing partner of boxer, singer and playboy Jack Doyle (1913 - 1978). They were married in a celebrity wedding in Westland Row Church in Dublin. They were famed as a double act on stage which drew sell-out crowds when they toured the country. The couple divorced in 1945 and Movita went on to marry the actor Marlon Brando.

 

Sean Keating would have known Movita and Doyle through the Dublin social scene, particularly as they were fellow habitues of the Wicklow Hotel. Movita died in 2015 at the age of 98.

 

View more View less