I
rish
& I
nternational
A
rt
A
uction
M
onday
5
th
D
ecember
2016
at
6.00
pm
111
125 Maurice MacGonigal PPRHA (1900-1979) Fetching Milk in the Farmyardsigned lower left
oil on board
35.60 x 46cm (14 x 18in)
Provenance:
Private Collection
€3,000-5,000 (£2,608-4,347)
MacGonigal was born in Dublin in 1900. As a young man he worked as an apprentice in the ecclesiastical design studios of his uncle,
Joshua Clarke, alongside his cousin, the renowned stained glass artist, Harry Clarke. A portrait, still life and landscape painter, he
attended the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art (DMSA) on a scholarship and was also awarded the Taylor Scholarship in painting
in 1924. In 1937 he was appointed Assistant Professor of Painting at the National College of Art (NCA) and became Professor from
1954-69. MacGonigal was also interested in stage design and book illustration. His work was influenced by Sean Keating and an
early interest in social realism. While teaching at NCAD, MacGonigal was commissioned to paint a mural for the NewYork World’s
Fair of 1939 - a 10.5 metres high panel representing Liberty, America, and thirty Irish-born makers of American history. He was as-
sisted by in this project by fellow DMSA alumni Harry Kernoff and Micheál de Burca. A profoundly influential teacher, he exhibited
regularly at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, and the RHA, Dublin. He was a member
of the Board of Governors and Guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland as well as the Keeper of the Academy from 1936-1939
and President from 1962-1977. His work is held in all the major collections in Ireland including the National Gallery, Dublin City
Gallery the Hugh Lane, the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery and the Ulster Museum. His last one-man exhibition took place in the
Taylor Galleries, Dublin in 1979.