$3,851
Harry Aaron Kernoff (Irish, 1900-1974) Darby and Joan, St. Stephen's Gn Dublin Signed "KERNOFF" l.l., titled and inscribed "...GO41771" on the reverse, identified on a label from The Vincent Price Collection affixed to the backing. Oil on artist board, 6 1/16 x 7 15/16 in. (15.4 x 20.2 cm), framed. Condition: Surface dust/grime, minor abrasions beneath frame liner, very minor retouch. Provenance: Private New England collection. N.B. Harry Kernoff, best known for his sympathetic scenes of everyday life, was raised in Dublin from the age of fourteen and remained there until his death. He attended the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin in the early 1920s, first taking night classes and then studying full-time on scholarship. By 1926, he began exhibiting at the Royal Hibernian Academy and nearly a decade later, was elected an Academician. The present work is a tender portrayal of a couple in St. Stephen's Green, a popular central park in Dublin. Kernoff makes their devotion to each other apparent in such details as their monogrammed bag, interlocking arms, and tightly-cropped composition. Subtle surface grime/dust beneath frame liner, subtle varnish inconsistencies, minor abrasions along edges, three small areas of light retouch (one in the right tree limb, approx. 1/8 x 1/2 in., one between the couple's legs approx. 1/2 x 1/8 in., and one L-shaped area under the man's pantleg cuff, approx. 1/4 x 1/4 in.).
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2009-09-11