About this lot

Description

§ Evelyn May Gibbs (British, 1905-1991) Galway Harbour signed 'Gibbs' (lower right); signed, inscribed to verso with title and artist's address oil on board 50 x 60cm (20 x 23in) Provenance: Acquired by Hertfordshire County Council in 1947 (label verso) Other Notes: Evelyn May Gibbs began her artistic career at the Liverpool College of Art, followed by the Royal College of Art. She won the Prix de Rome Scholarship in 1929 and later accepted a teaching post at Goldsmiths. During World War II, she was evacuated to Nottingham with the rest of the school and it was there that she founded the Midland Group of Artists in 1943. Gibbs travelled extensively throughout her career, and many of her best-known landscapes are a product of her travels. 'Galway Harbour' (1947) was most likely produced following her 1946 trip to Ireland, and is one of a series of landscapes depicting the area around Dublin and Galway. Gibbs' work is now part of the permanent collection at the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert, and the Ashmolean. A 'lost' wall painting by her was discovered at Bilborough Church in Nottingham during a restoration project in 2014. The painting has been cleaned and varnished at some point, which has led to the grain of the underlying board showing through slightly in places, particularly the lower left. There is some paint loss to the top left corner and additional damage to the board in the same area. An inch-long crack is evident towards the top edge.  

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