The Red Seat near Baggot Street Bridge

Artist Harry Kernoff (1900 - 1974)

Datec. 1947

MediumOil on board

Dimensions67 × 97 cm

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery. Donated by Dr Leslie Kernoff, 1992. © The Estate of Harry Kernoff.

Object number1824

Description'The Red Seat near Baggot Street Bridge' is a typical example of the artist's output from the 1930s onwards. Kernoff treats the subject in a direct manner, with no attempt at capturing atmospheric nuances. The composition is evenly lit with strong, bright light, which in turn casts dense, black shadows. His concern is with the structure of things, so much so that his trees almost have a 'carved' appearance and a seagull is frozen in flight against a stylised sky. Kernoff has a great eye for the vernacular: a man sits on the red seat reading his newspaper while his dog sniffs curiously at a passing swan as it glides through the green waters of the canal. The artist has even included the manhole cover adjacent to the red seat. The overall flat quality of the composition is offset by the lines of trees and street bollards, which sharply recede into the distance.

(Extract from 'Images and Insights', Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, 1993, p. 114)

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