Beach, South of France

Artist William John Leech (1881 - 1968)

Date1921-1926

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions49.5 x 61 cm

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery. Thomas and Gertrude Callaghan Bequest, 1993. © The Estate of William John Leech.

Object number1829

DescriptionWilliam Leech was a pupil of the artist Walter Osborne and he regarded Osborne as the best teacher he ever had. Although Leech had moved to England from Ireland, he continued to exhibit at the RHA in Dublin. He also revisited France on many occasions to paint at Grasse and Cagnes-sur-Mer. This painting shows two women walking barefoot on the sand with decorative parasols and colourful scarves to shade them from the intense sun. The woman on the right appears to be May Botterell, a life-long friend who became his second wife upon their marriage in 1953. In the background children are playing at the water’s edge. The influence of post-Impressionism is evident in Leech’s use of broad brushstrokes and contrasting colours in this painting. Reflections on water were a recurring theme in his work and they are vividly portrayed in this work.

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