This charming late-19th-century watercolour by Canadian artist Mary S Hagarty (1857-1936) depicts a scene at Porlock Weir, Somerset. Hagarty was an accomplished painter/watercolourist predominantly known for landscapes.
Leaning on a rickety cart, she holds the reins of a weary donkey, while conversing with an older woman over a stone wall. Beyond, a thatched building, perhaps an inn, with a glimpse of the Bristol Channel further on. It’s a passing moment rendered with great skill and observation.
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.
Mary S Hagarty exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists, Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool (which holds an example), and the Birmingham Society of Artists. She was an associate member of the Liverpool Society of Painters in Water Colours and her brother was the artist Parker Hagarty (1859-1934).
Signed in the lower right, framed and glazed.
Learn more about Mary Hagarty in our directory.
Medium: Watercolour on paper
Overall size: 29” x 22” / 74cm x 56cm
Year of creation: c. 1890
Labels & Inscriptions: Label with a brief biography.
Provenance: Private collection, UK.
Condition: Very presentable. Frame in good condition with minor age-related wear.
Artist’s auction maximum: £3,600 for ‘A Girl Feeding Pigeons in Front of the San Marco Church, Venice’, Watercolour, Christie’s, Amsterdam, Fine 19th Century European Pictures - Watercolors And Drawings, 1989 (lot 121).
Our reference: BRV1918
