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62 George Russell (AE) (1867-1935) Three Children on a Beachmonogrammed Æ lower right
oil on canvas
35.70 x 57cm (14 x 22in)
Provenance:
De Vere’s, Dublin, 22nd June 1999, Lot 48;
Private Collection
€2,000-4,000 (£1,739-3,479)
George William Russell was born in Lurgan, County Armagh in 1867 but his family relo-
cated to Dublin when he was eleven years old. He was educated at Rathmines School and the
Metropolitan School of Art. Russell’s interests were wide-ranging; he became a theosophist
and wrote extensively on politics and economics, while continuing to paint and write poetry.
Russell claimed to be a clairvoyant, able to view various kinds of spiritual beings, which he
illustrated in his paintings and drawings. Russell wrote with the pseudonym Æ (sometimes
written AE or A.E.).