Mary Sophia Hagarty was an accomplished painter/watercolourist predominantly known for landscapes.
Born in Ontario, Canada, Hagarty moved with her family early in life to Liverpool, where she lived for the next four decades before moving to London. She was probably trained by her father Alfred Hagarty, who lists his occupation as “landscape painter” in the census.
She possessed a keen fascination for the transient effects of light and her finest works were often captured under the radiant glow of a hazy morning, as we see here. Note the bright illumination on the chimney breast and wall. And the deftly handled gradient of the sky as it culminates in a dazzling white. In addition to this, she understood composition, colour and form - selecting her angles intelligently to maximise interest. Victorian critics (who were usually male) were somewhat patronising when they described her watercolours as “dainty” and “extremely pretty”.
A well-travelled artist, her extensive oeuvre included views from Switzerland, Provence, and Venice as well as various picturesque spots in southern England. At times, her brushwork is looser and more impressionistic, so perhaps the French had an influence on her. She remains underrated. Her brother was the artist Parker Hagarty (1859-1934).
Exhibited
The Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists, Dudley Gallery, Walker Art Gallery, Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, South Wales Art Society, Liverpool Society of Painters in Water Colours, The Twelve Club, Women’s International Art Club, Cardiff Art Exhibition, Streatham Art Exhibition, Calderon Art Society, South Wales Art Society, Society of Women Artists.
Public Collections
Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.
Timeline
1857
Born in Ontario, Canada to Alfred Hagarty, a landscape painter, and Eliza Hagarty.
1871
Lived in Everton with her mother and siblings.
1881
Lived in Liverpool with her parents, siblings and a servant.
C. 1884
Elected an associate of the Liverpool Society of Painters in Water Colours.
1885
Shown at the Dudley Gallery, London.
Debuted at the Royal Academy with ‘The River Wye’.
1887
Exhibition of watercolour sketches at the gallery of Robert Dunthorne, picture dealer, Liverpool.
Shown at the Royal Academy.
1889
Shown at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours.
1891
Shown at the Royal Academy.
1892
Lived in Egremont, Cheshire.
Shown at the Royal Academy.
1894
Shown at the South Wales Art Society.
Shown at the Royal Academy.
1895
Shown at the Royal Academy.
Elected an Associate of the Liverpool Academy of Fine Arts.
1896
Lived in Seacombe, Liverpool.
Shown at the Royal Academy.
1898
Lived in Streatham, London.
Shown at the Royal Academy.
1899
Shown at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours.
Shown at the Royal Academy.
“The Old Windmill, no 167, by Miss Mary S. Hagarty, is very sensitively painted and delicate in colour”.
1900
Shown at the Royal Academy.
1901
Shown at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours.
Boarding in Streatham, London.
1902
Shown at the Hanover Gallery, London.
Shown at the Royal Academy.
1904
Shown at the Royal Academy.
“Miss Mary S. Hagarty is represented in the water-colour room by two extremely pretty sheets. ‘A Pastoral’ is a graceful little study in green, conspicuous mostly for the good drawing and chaste use of the colours; but in ‘Showery Weather,’ which shows some men and horses at work in the fields, a deeper tone is struck, and the picture is notable for the wisdom and balance shown in the composition.”
1905
Shown at the Modern Gallery, London, via an exhibition of ‘The Twelve Club’.
“‘The Venetian Canal’ of Miss Mary S. Hagarty is possessed of a distinctive style which is also agreeably apparent in her ‘Village by the Sea,’ ‘Ploughing,’ and ‘The Valley’ landscapes soundly studied under the influence of a grey sky.”
1906
Shown at the Royal Academy.
“Miss Mary S. Hagarty's contribution is a dainty painting, entitled, ‘Trees on the Marsh,’ in which the artist shows some of the best of her well-known work with trees as the main subject.”
1907
Shown at the Royal Academy.
1908
Shown at the Women’s International Art Club.
1910
Shown at The Alpine Club via the Calderon Art Society.
1911
Boarding in Streatham, London.
1914
Shown at Cardiff Art Exhibition.
1921
Lived in Cardiff with her brother, Parker Hagarty, and his wife, Laura Avery.
1923
Shown at the Royal Academy.
1926
Shown at the Royal Academy.
“No. 825, ‘On the Hill,’ by Mary S. Hagarty, is a picture of her popular and beautifully drawn studies of trees standing against a warm afternoon sky.”
1927
Shown at the Liverpool Academy of Arts.
1929
Shown at the Cardiff Exhibition.
“Miss Mary S. Hagarty has some charming watercolours side by side with those of her gifted brother, Mr. Parker Hagarty, R.C.A.”
1930
Shown at the Streatham Art Exhibition.
C. 1939
Died.