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Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) MIXED FLOCK signed lower left oil on canvas 38 by 51cm., 15 by...

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Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) MIXED FLOCK signed lower left oil on canvas 38 by 51cm., 15 by...
Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974)
MIXED FLOCK
signed lower left
oil on canvas
38 by 51cm., 15 by 20in.
Provenance:
‘The Irish Sale’, Christie’s, London, 9 May 1996, lot 26;
Private collection, Surrey
A label formerly attached to the reverse of the canvas bore the title and
McKelvey’s address as Rae’s Building, Belfast. It was on the third floor at this
address, 142 Royal Avenue, Belfast, that McKelvey established his first studio,
in 1919 or 1920, in the heart of the city’s business community. In fact he ran
his studio like a business, arriving smartly dressed in the mornings, painting
during set hours, and returning home in the evening, his day’s work finished. In
1931, however, he moved his studio to another address in the city.
A Mixed Flock, a youthful work, with its overall feeling of lightness, fresh air
and the spontaneity of the moment, is typical of McKelvey’s subject matter in
these years. The even film of paint and emphasis on naturalism express with ease
his superb technical facility. In 1924 McKelvey married Elizabeth Murphy, and
they settled at the Maze, near Hillsborough, in County Down. That is almost
certainly the setting for this composition and the figure feeding the chickens
is probably the young Mrs. McKelvey.
Dr S. B. Kennedy,
Belfast, 2004
€40,000-€50,000 (£26,800-£33,500 sterling approx.)