George Russell Æ (1867-1935) Children at Slieve League, Co. Donegal Oil on canvas, 61 x 76cm (24 x 30'') Signed with monogram Provenance: The property of Barbara Morley Horder and by descent...

George Russell Æ (1867-1935) Children at Slieve League, Co. Donegal Oil on canvas, 61 x 76cm (24 x 30'') Signed with monogram Provenance: The property of Barbara Morley Horder and by descent to Mrs. J. Fisher; who sold it at Taylor de Veres, Dublin, 12th October 1993, Lot No. 159, where purchased by J.P. Reihill Deepwell, Blackrock, Co. Dublin Exhibited: ''Ireland: Her People and Landscape'' The AVA Gallery, June - Sept 2012, Cat. No. 47 Literature: ''Ireland: Her People and Landscape'' Exhibition Catalogue, full page illustration p54 This painting is mentioned in the autobiography of Barbara Morley Horder :- ''We went to a wonderful tea party at AE's in Dublin - this was his lovely broken down house in Merrion Square .... I have a painting by him of the Donegal coast which lights up mysteriously when the sun shines on it '' George Russell grew up in Lurgan, Co. Armagh but moved to Dublin at the age of 11. He is known not only for his paintings but as a writer, poet, critic, theosophist and economist, and by his pseudonym Æ (a derivative of the word Aeon). He began night time painting classes at the Metropolitan School of Art just two years after moving to Dublin, and went on to receive academic training at the RHA. AE supported Hugh Lane's campaign for the gallery of modern art and was active in the Irish Literary Revival. He exhibited abroad at the 1913 Armory Show in New York and at the Whitechapel in London, and created a large scale series of murals at 3 Upper Ely Place in Dublin which has been compared to the work of Goya. His paintings can be found in the collection of the Ulster Museum, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane, OPW, Trinity College Dublin and the Crawford Gallery. George Russell's landscapes are based on a close harmonious relationship between humanity and nature. Steeped in symbolism and theosophy, Russell believed in the connection between outward sensations and inner responses. His Children at Slieve League, Co. Donegal, shows two figures embracing with a vista of sand and mountains extending behind them. Subtle exaggerations of light and colour such as the patches of intense blue in the cliffs and rocky found create a pulsating vision of the Donegal landscape - a location for which the artist had particular fondness. Unlike the Henrys, Russell holidayed in the west rather than living there long term. His visits to Donegal were particularly productive and their regenerative power is reflected in the work that he made there. Our thanks to Dr. Róisín Kennedy on whose writing much of this note is based.

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