Lot 1247: JORGE AGUILAR (20th Century) THE RED SHOP Signed, inscribed on the stretcher, oil on canvas 40 x 49.5cm. Provenance: Acquired by the owner from Omell Galleries, London, 1986 E150-250 Good condition GERALD MOIRA was born in London in 1867, the son of

JORGE AGUILAR (20th Century) THE RED SHOP Signed, inscribed on the stretcher, oil on canvas 40 x 49.5cm. Provenance: Acquired by the owner from Omell Galleries, London, 1986 E150-250 Good condition GERALD MOIRA was born in London in 1867, the son of Edward Lobo Moira, Miniature Painter to Queen Victoria. Of Portuguese origin, he anglicised his birth name of Giraldo de Moura. The young Gerald studied painting at the Royal Academy Schools and in Paris and showed work at the Royal Academy from 1891-1946. This ranged from conventional portraiture and symbolist works in the Pre-Raphaelite tradition in the early years to strong genre compositions with boldly executed figure groups as his career progressed. Rhubarb Gatherers” ( lot 1257) and Glinting Winter Sun” (lot 1256), both Royal Academy exhibits, owe much to the striking designs of Laura Knight and William Strang between the wars and are re-appearing for the first time in over seventy years. In his long career, Moira divided his time between teaching (first at the Royal College of Art and then at Edinburgh University) and working on his many public commissions. He explored innovative methods of producing coloured bas relief carvings with the sculptor F. Lynn Jenkins and went on to produce extravagant friezes, murals, stained glass windows and decorative panels for patrons as varied as Andrew Carnegie, the Trocadero restaurant, the Old Bailey ( both before and after the Second World War), the Queen's dolls' house at Windsor Castle, St.Pauls Knightsbridge, City Hall Bristol and P&O ships. Moira produced excellent line illustrations in an Art Nouveau style and his students were as diverse as Byam Shaw (whom Moira directed towards graphic work) and Leon Underwood. As a result of his work schedule, Moira had little time to devote to works for the private sector. His pictures appear infrequently on the market nowadays and this small selection, consigned for sale by his family, reveals anew a remarkably talented artist who combined a vigorous technique with some striking subject matter. For a detailed history of his early career, see The Art of Gerald Moira” by Harold Watkins.