Lot 122: Richard Thomas Moynan RHA (1856-1906) PORTRAIT OF

Richard Thomas Moynan RHA (1856-1906) PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST'S DAUGHTER, BRIDGET, SEATED WITH HER DOLL, 1891 signed and dated upper left oil on canvas 55 by 41cm., 21.5 by 16.25in. Provenance: James Adam Salerooms, Dublin, 17 June 1992, lot 92; Whence purchased by the present owner Literature: Niall Fallon, 'Moynan and Yeats stand out in Adam sale', Irish Times, 6 June 1992 (illustrated): Niall Fallon, 'Moynan works provide double treat', Irish Times, 13 June 1992 Painted in the same year as two of Moynan's best known works, Military Manoeuvres and Tug of War, this portrait of the artist's young daughter displays a more intimate aspect of the artist's oeuvre. As Maebh O'Regan has noted, Moynan was "a dedicated family man" who frequently used his family as models.1 Contemplation, 1892 shows Moynan's wife, Suzanna, with their daughter Bridget; his wife's gaze suggesting "a moment of realisation during the rough and tumble of play", providing "an insight into the informal interaction between parent and child within the artist's household". 2 When the present work first surfaced at auction, in 1992, it was singled out for praise by art critic Niall Fallon: "Of all the works in the sale, none is more captivating than Richard Thomas Moynan's portrait of his little daughter, Bridget. Moynan drew and painted her quite frequently, and this is a minor classic, beautifully composed and given an extra, strange dimension by the addition of a discarded doll lying at the girl's feet". 1 Maebh O'Regan, 'Richard Moynan: Painting Privilege and Poverty', Irish Arts Review, vol. 23 no. 4, December 2006, page 117 2 Ibid.