This engaging mid-20th-century oil painting by accomplished London painter Michael Gilbery (1913-2000) depicts Mrs L Gordon. It was shown at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and represents the mature phase of an artist whose reputation was built upon sympathetic characterisation.
The sitter, Mrs L. Gordon, is shown seated comfortably in an elegant carved chair, her hands gently folded in her lap. She meets the viewer with a composed, faintly amused expression - confident without being imposing. Gilbery has captured not only her features but something of her temperament: intelligent, self-possessed, and quietly assured.
Her dark lace dress is handled with careful attention to texture, the subtle highlights suggesting both pattern and depth without becoming fussy. The triple strand of pearls, drop earrings, and rings are painted with crisp precision, providing small flashes of light against the restrained palette. The warm neutral background ensures that the focus remains firmly on the sitter, allowing her face and hands to emerge as the focus of the composition.
Gilbery’s technique sits comfortably within the traditional British portrait school. His modelling is soft and naturalistic, avoiding bravura in favour of calm observation. The flesh tones are gently blended, the pose thoughtfully arranged, and the overall effect is one of respectful intimacy.
Trained at St Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College of Art under Sir William Rothenstein and Gilbert Spencer, Gilbery belonged to a generation that valued draughtsmanship. He first came to prominence as a teenager when a portrait of his father was accepted by the Royal Academy, and he went on to build a steady career painting sitters from professional and civic life. Works such as this demonstrate why he was regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.
Signed/dated in the lower left and accompanied by its exhibition history on the reverse. Held in its original mid-20th-century swept frame with acanthus leaf corners and a decorative sight edge.
Learn more about Michael Gilbery in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 32” x 37” / 82cm x 94cm
Year of creation: 1956
Labels & Inscriptions: Exhibition label on the reverse.
Provenance: Private collection, UK.
Condition: Cleaned. Revarnished. One tidy patched repair. Frame in good condition with minor age-related wear.
Artist’s auction maximum: £10,700 for ‘A Head And Shoulders Self Portrait Of The Artist Wearing A Jewish Prayer Garment Called A Tallit’, Oil on canvas, 27 April 2020.
Our reference: BRV1702
