Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller

Laurence Henry Irving
Elegy to a Dead Tree - Kent Landscape - British 1950's art oil painting

1952

About the Item

This superb British 1950's landscape oil painting is by noted artist Laurence Henry Irving. Painted in 1952 it is entitled verso as Elegy to a Dead Tree. In the foreground, towering up against a blue summer's sky is this enormous blasted tree, its twisted dead branches whitened with age and sun, a good perching spot for birds. It's the sort of thing that, if you saw it on a walk, you would have to stop and take a photograph. Beside it is a pool and the Kent countryside stretches out beyond. The detail and colouring are superb. This is a lovely example of Irving's work from the fifties. Signed and dated 52 lower right. Provenance. J J Patrickson label verso. Artist's details and title on label verso. Condition. Oil on canvas. Image size 20 inches by 24 inches. In good condition. Frame. Housed in a complementary frame, 27 inches by 31 inches and in good condition. Laurence Henry Irving OBE, RDI (11 April 1897 – 23 October 1988) was an artist, book illustrator and Hollywood set designer and art director. Irving was the son of actors H. B. Irving and Dorothea Baird, and the biographer of his grandfather, the Victorian era actor, Henry Irving. His sister was the actress and founder of the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign, Elizabeth Irving. He lived and died in Wittersham, Kent in 1988, within walking distance of the house, Smallhythe Place, where Dame Ellen Terry lived, who was his grandfather's leading lady at the Lyceum Theatre in London's West End. He briefly and unhappily attended Wellington College and later trained as a painter at the Byam Shaw School of Art and the Royal Academy School, studying under Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon. On completion of his art training, Irving specialised in landscape and marine painting before commencing on his career as a designer for the theatre. He was a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) during World War I, ending the War with the rank of Captain. In 1919 be became engaged to Rosalind Woolner, the granddaughter of the Pre-Raphaelite sculptor Thomas Woolner. They married in 1921. Laurence Irving was also a book illustrator, producing artwork for Richard Hakluyt's Voyages & Discoveries of the English (1926) and John Masefield’s Philip the King (1927). In 1928 Irving went to Hollywood with Douglas Fairbanks to be his Art Director on The Iron Mask (1929), the last of his full-scale silent films and, later, in collaboration with William Cameron Menzies, to design the production of the film version of The Taming of the Shrew (1929). He was the Art Director for the films 77 Park Lane (1931) and Colonel Blood (1934). In his memoirs, Irving vividly recounts working in Hollywood for such figures as Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin. On his return to the United Kingdom in the 1930s, he worked on films such as Moonlight Sonata (1937) and the Gabriel Pascal films of Shaw's Pygmalion (1938). In October 1939 at the start of World War II he served in the Intelligence Department at the Air Ministry.
  • Creator:
    Laurence Henry Irving (1897 - 1988)
  • Creation Year:
    1952
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 27 in (68.58 cm)Width: 31 in (78.74 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU853113342272
More From This SellerView All
  • A Geological Landscape - British art 1920's landscape oil painting female artist
    By Margaret Maitland Howard
    Located in London, GB
    This gorgeous and vibrant early twentieth century British landscape oil painting is by Margaret Maitland Howard. Painted circa 1920 the landscape is of a rocky out crop or escarpment...
    Category

    1920s Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • The Young Art Critics - Scottish Edwardian art portrait landscape oil painting
    Located in London, GB
    This lovely Edwardian exhibited portrait landscape oil painting is by noted Scottish artist James Riddel. It was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1909 and again in Glasgow Institute in 1913, entitled The Critics. Painted circa 1909, the painting has the muted tones but varied palette of the Scottish School. The focus of the composition is a young boy and girl stood in the foreground, outdoors, examining a painting in progress on an easel. They look as if they are giving it very careful consideration. The artist's bag, brushes and tubes of paint lie on the grass beneath the easel but he is not in view. The painting is of the countryside and path leading to a collection of dwellings beyond, all bathed in sunshine. The earnestness of the young art critics can be seen in their body language and is very sweet. A really lovely exhibited Scottish Impressionist Edwardian oil painting and an excellent example of Riddel's work. Signed lower right. Provenance. Exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy 1909 no. 294, entitled The Critics. Exhibited at the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts 1913 no. 420 entitled The Critics. Aitken Dott & Son (The Scottish Gallery), Castle Street, Edinburgh. Paisley Art...
    Category

    Early 1900s Realist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Couple in a Snowy Mountainous Landscape - British 1940's art skiing oil painting
    Located in London, GB
    This dramatic snowy mountainous landscape oil painting is by British artist Francis Wynne Thomas. It was painted circa 1945 when Thomas was in Ger...
    Category

    1940s Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Ben Lomond Scotland Cattle in Mist - British 19thC art landscape oil painting
    Located in London, GB
    This superb British Victorian animal landscape oil painting is by noted artist Henry Robinson Hall. Famous for his paintings of Highland cattle, it was painted circa 1895 and is a la...
    Category

    19th Century Realist Animal Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Landscape with Distant Mountains - British Victorian art landscape oil painting
    Located in London, GB
    This refreshing British Victorian mountainous landscape oil painting is by noted artist Arthur Severn. He was a life long friend of Ruskin who encouraged him to turn to nature for i...
    Category

    19th Century Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Spezia Marine - Italian 19th century art nautical seascape oil painting Italy
    By Agostino Fossati
    Located in London, GB
    This lovely Italian 19th century Spezia marine oil painting is by noted artist Agostino Fossati. It depicts an evening glow across the bay. This oil on panel was painted circa 1870 a...
    Category

    19th Century Realist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

You May Also Like

Recently Viewed

View All