Mary Swanzy HRHA was an Irish landscape and genre artist.
18 Facts About Mary Swanzy
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Mary Swanzy was born in Dublin on 15 February 1882, the second of three daughters of Sir Henry Rosborough Swanzy, an eye surgeon, and his wife Mary.
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Mary Swanzy went on to take art classes at Mary Manning's studio, under the direction of John Butler Yeats.
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Mary Swanzy went on to attend the studio of Antonio de La Gandara in 1906, and took classes at Academie de la Grande Chaumiere and Academie Colarossi.
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Whilst in Paris Mary Swanzy was exposed to the works of Gauguin, Matisse, and Picasso, which made a lasting impression on her.
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On her return to Dublin, Mary Swanzy painted portraits and genre scenes and held her first show at Mill's Hall, Merrion Row in 1913.
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Mary Swanzy held another show there in 1919, where she exhibited nearly 50 pieces.
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Mary Swanzy painted in a number of styles, often reflecting the major art developments in Paris.
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Mary Swanzy exhibited with the Societe des Artistes Independants in 1914 and 1916, being elected to the committee in 1920.
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Whilst visiting her sister who was involved with the Protestant relief mission in Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, Mary Swanzy painted landscapes, village life, and peasant scenes.
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Mary Swanzy began to travel to more exotic countries from the 1920s, Honolulu around 1923, and later Samoa.
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Mary Swanzy stayed for a time in Santa Barbara, California, working in a local studio and exhibiting some of her Samoan work at the Santa Barbara Arts Club Gallery.
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Mary Swanzy returned to Ireland in February 1925 and exhibited three of her Samoan paints at the RHA, and 14 at her one-woman show in the Galerie Bernheim Jeune, Paris in October 1925.
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Mary Swanzy's work became more allegorical in later years, with The message in the Hugh Lane Gallery demonstrating this.
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Mary Swanzy was exhibited at St George's Gallery, London in 1946 along with Henry Moore, Marc Chagall, and William Scott.
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Mary Swanzy was made an honorary member of the RHA in 1949, showing with them in 1950 and 1951.
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Mary Swanzy did not exhibit in Ireland for a number of years, but the Hugh Lane Gallery held a major retrospective of her work in 1968.
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Mary Swanzy continued to paint until her death at her home in London on 7 July 1978.