MAURICE MACGONIGAL PPRHA HRA HRSA (1900 - 1979)

Title: Celtic Battle Scene Medium: Gouache Signature: Signed Lower Right Provenance: The Ritche Hendrick's Gallery, Dublin (Framing Label Verso); Private Collection Framed Lot Description: Maurice MacGonigal PRHA (1900–1979), Chariot Battle Scene, gouache and ink on paper, signed lower right. A vivid, panoramic composition portraying a dramatic battle scene with a horse-drawn chariot, fallen figures, spears, and warriors in motion. Rendered in MacGonigal’s experimental modernist style, the work blends narrative figuration with expressive abstraction. Dynamic forms, gestural linework, and a bold palette of blacks, yellows, reds, and blues create a sense of chaos and movement, while identifiable elements—figures with shields, spears, and classical attire—evoke a mythological or heroic narrative. A rare and striking example of MacGonigal’s interest in storytelling through abstract form. Framed in a deep navy mount with gold fillet and glazed gilt frame. Image: 14 x 49.5 cm.; Framed: 37 x 70.5 cm. PICTURES AND PRINTS Tuesday 16th September 2025 18:26:40 Biography MAURICE MACGONIGAL PPRHA HRA HRSA (1900 - 1979) Born in Dublin and a cousin of the artist Harry Clarke, MacGonigal began his artistic career as an apprentice in his uncle Joshua Clarke's stained-glass studio on North Frederick Street. From 1917, he was active in Na Fianna Éireann and, after periods of internment at Kilmainham Jail and Ballykinlar Camp, County Down, he pursued evening art classes at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. In 1924, he won the Taylor Scholarship and exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy for the first time. Following a study trip to Holland in 1927, he returned to Dublin to teach at the RHA Schools and as a relief teacher at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. He was elected a full member of the RHA in 1933 and served as Keeper of the Academy from 1936 to 1939 and again from 1950 to 1961. In 1962, he became President of the RHA, a position he held until 1977. MacGonigal’s work was influenced by Sean Keating, often focusing on scenes of early life in the west of Ireland. Today, his paintings are represented in all major collections across Ireland.