Fergus O'Ryan RHA (1911-1989) Repairing Nets, Peñiscola Oil on board, 20 x 27.5cm (7¾ x 10¾'') Signed and inscribed with title Peñiscola is a small town on the Costa del Azahar on the...

Fergus O'Ryan RHA (1911-1989) Repairing Nets, Peñiscola Oil on board, 20 x 27.5cm (7¾ x 10¾'') Signed and inscribed with title Peñiscola is a small town on the Costa del Azahar on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. It is known locally as the 'City in the Sea' as it is joined to the mainland by a narrow strip of land. The subject of this work is unusual for O'Ryan; here he depicts everyday life in a small fishing village in Spain on a very intimate scale. Local women sit casually doing their daily work, mending fishing nets beside white washed buildings. The two woman to the background engage in chit chat while working and a rich Mediterranean light floods through the middle ground and top right corner. Throughout his career O'Ryan rarely exhibited foreign landscapes concentrating primarily on views of his homeland. In 1969 he travelled to Greece via France and Italy on a painting holiday with fellow RHA members Brett McEntagart and James Nolan; however he did not produce any work on the three month trip. He said of this that there was no market for foreign subject matter in the Dublin galleries.

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