Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)

Study for kneeling figure for the wall above the doorway into the sacristy, c.1942

SKU: 10379

Charcoal, pencil, squared

19.8 x 15.4in (50.3 x 39cm)

Size:
Height – 50.3cm
Width – 39cm

DESCRIPTION

Provenance:
The Artist’s Studio
Presentation:
folio

Mahoney was commissioned to produce a mural scheme for the Lady Chapel at Campion Hall in 1941. The scheme was to be made up primarily of three large panels: the Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds, the Coronation of the Virgin, and Our Lady of Mercy. In detail and composition the paintings owe much to early Italian example. The most notable case is Our Lady of Mercy (Autumn), clearly inspired by Piero della Francesca’s altarpiece at Borgo San Sepolcro.

Electing to paint directly onto canvas fixed to the walls and by daylight hours only, the project inevitably became drawn out – Mahoney could only work in situ during the Easter and summer vacations when he was not teaching. The project continued into the following decade and coincided with a serious decline in the artist’s physical health. In spite of these problems, Sir John Rothenstein, who chose to reproduce one of the murals as a plate in British Art since 1900 (1962, pl.60), was moved to describe the scheme as “second ….. only to that by Stanley Spencer at Burghclere”. A full account of the circumstances of the commission and some of the problems involved can be found in Sir John Rothenstein’s Tribute to Mahoney in the catalogue of the Memorial Exhibition held at the Ashmolean Museum in 1975.

 

For drawing, Mahoney liked a textured paper, soft to the touch, such as Ingres, or still better, hand-made papers from firms such as Hayle Mill or Barcham Green. Occasionally he bought cheap sketchbooks from Woolworth’s because he found the paper so sympathetic as a surface for drawing. For his earliest drawings he used mainly B or 2B pencils, but he later preferred Black Prince or carbon pencils. He often used charcoal, adding white or red crayons to highlight drawings. Sometimes he combined these with conté crayons or pastels. For his later drawings he preferred pen and wash, taking great trouble to mix and dilute his inks until he achieved the required tone and colour. His drawing pens were either reservoir nibs in holders or else cartridge pens.

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THE ARTIST

Charles Mahoney
Charles
Mahoney
1903 - 1968

In his memoir Since 50, Men & Memories 1922-1938 (New York,1940, p. 236) the first two names that appear on William Rothenstein list of top Royal College of Art students were Henry Moore and Charles Mahoney – the list continues with the names of luminaries such as Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden, Barnett Freedman Edward Le Bas, and Evelyn Dunbar. The process of reassuring Mahoney’s place in 20th century British Art has had several important milestones including the 1975 Ashmolean exhibition, the Liss Fine Art/Fine Art Society touring show (2000) and Mahoney’s predominant feature in Tate Britain’s The Art of the Garden, (2005) – but the process of reassessment still has a long way to go.

Painter, muralist, draughtsman and teacher. Born Cyril Mahoney in London – his fellow-student Barnett Freedman re-christened him Charlie at the Royal College of Art, which he attended 1922-6 after a period at Beckenham School of Art under Percy Jowett. Early on, Mahoney established a reputation as a conscientious teacher. He was at the Royal College 1928-53, from 1948-53 as a painting tutor, and was noted there for his concern for academic discipline. His portrait is included in Rodrigo Moynihan’s celebrated Teaching Staff of the Painting School at the Royal College of Art, 1949-50. From 1954 to 1963 he taught at the Byam Shaw School of Drawing and Painting and from 1961 to 1968 at the Royal Academy Schools. He painted murals at Morley College 1928-30 with his colleagues Eric Ravillious and Edward Bawden. Unfortunately these murals were destroyed during World War II. The work led to further murals: at Brockley School, Kent, with Evelyn Dunbar; and at Campion Hall Lady Chapel, Oxford. His oil paintings are frequently of a religious nature. He was a skilled botanist, and many of his drawings depict his garden at Wrotham, Kent. He exhibited at NEAC and the RA, being made an RA elect in 1968. He is represented in the Tate Gallery and other public collections. The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, held a memorial exhibition in 1975. Exhibitions were held in 2000 at the Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, Royal Museum and Art Gallery, Canterbury, and the Fine Art Society plc in association with Liss Fine Art.

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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
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Set Design, c.1926-30
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Portrait of Barnett Freedman
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Illustration of statue
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Angel Playing Tubular Bells
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Bathsheba seated with two figures in attendance
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Evening, Oak Cottage
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Self-Portrait
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The Chicken Run, 1929
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Oak Cottage from back garden
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Allotments Beside White Hill Pumping Station, Wrotham, c.1938
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Giant Sunflower Head
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Galaxy of Sunflowers, 1967
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Companulas in Enamel Jug
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Giant Sunflowers in Oak Cottage Garden
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Observation Post – Wrotham Hill, circa 1940
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Room at the Queens Hotel, Ambleside, circa 1940
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Study for kneeling figure, Campion Hall, circa 1942
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Study of sunflower in bud
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Spring
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Study of a broken Sunflower stem
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Study of a seated muse
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Kneeling young woman, rear view, for Campion Hall Study for kneeling figure for the wall above the doorway into the sacristy, c.1942
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The Puppeteer (Self Portrait)
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Figures fleeing from a giant
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
The Metamorphosis of Daphne
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Study for kneeling figure for the wall above the doorway into the sacristy, c.1942
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The Metamorphosis of Daphne
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Daphne ascending
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Maquette for cover of Gardeners’ Choice, c.1937
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Allegory of Four Winds, circa 1925
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Surreal Composition with Hand, Bouquet and Eyes in a Glass
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Still life with blue stocks in an earthenware jar
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Muses; Study for Self-portrait of the Artist at Work. 1950’s
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Study for the Morley College mural
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Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
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Window sill with flower pot and bird, Mother and child in garden, 1935
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Mother and young child, walking in Hyde Park, circa 1925
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Mother and young child in Hyde Park, circa 1925
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Compositional study for woman sweeping path, mid 1930’s
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Design for an embroidered quilt, circa 1935
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Compositional study for The Pleasures of Life, c.1928
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Study of a Cabbage
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Winter landscape, Ambleside
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Study of pears and apples in a basket
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Study for Hampstead Backs, London
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Self Portrait, late 1950’s
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Composition with eyes in wine glasses and a floating hand with a bouquet, late 1930’s
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Study of a cut sunflower head, mid 1930’s
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Greenhouse Interior, 1930’s
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Child in the garden, c.1935
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Mother and child in garden, 1935
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The Artist and his model, circa 1935
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Kitchen at Oak Cottage, circa 1937
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Bathsheba, late 1940’s
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Study of Nicolas Poussins 1648 painting: Madonna on the steps, mid 1920s
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Attendant angel, floating, full size cartoon for The Lady Chapel at Campion Hall, circa 1941
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Gas Mask Drill, Ambleside, circa 1942
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Study for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, circa 1935
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Study for a fabric design, circa 1940
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Perspective drawing, circa 1925
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Portrait of Barnett Freedman
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Study of Piano Accordion for Morley College mural, 1927
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Eryngium Agavifolium, design for Gardeners Choice
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Autumn, 1951
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Encampment, design for a mural, c.1925
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Street scene – design for a mural, circa 1925
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Study for Muse, c.1927
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Christmas tree in pot, 1956
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Study of Woman Playing Guitar, 1928
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First design for the Thomas More Altar, Cheyne Row, London, mid 1930s
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Study for The Four Winds of Hilly Fields, ceiling design for Brockley County School, c. 1932-36
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Study of Angels for the Altar Wall of Campion Hall Chapel, mid 1940s
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Portrait of Geoffrey Rhoades, 1930
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Study for The Clock and The Dial, mural at Brockley County School (now Prendergast – Hilly Fields School) 1935
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Allegory of Peony, c.1930
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Wheelbarrow and basket
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Three Women in a Vase, Handing out Flowers
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The Allotment, Wrotham, late 1930’s
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Study of Girl Behind Wall, c.1928
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Veryan, circa 1962
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View from Oak Cottage across neighbouring gardens
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Ambleside, circa 1942
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The Artist’s Chair, (Interior Oak Cottage), c.1937
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Study of Oak Cottage, circa 1940
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Anemonies in a jar, circa 1930
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Still life with artist’s pamphlet Christmas Coleus, 1940’s
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Houses at Veryon
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Sandpit at Borough Green, circa 1950
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Cloud study
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Self-portrait, Ambleside, 1941
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Study of a sunflower in the artist’s garden with rooftops beyond, 1940’s
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The Campion Hall Fathers gathered around Mary’s bed, c. 1942
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View from rear window at Mahoney’s family home, Anerley, c.1922
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Studies of a Sunflower Plant, late 1950’s
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The Willow Grove, Great Bardfield, Spring 1933
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Study of Foliage
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The Artist’s Hand with Painted Teasel
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Distant view of Cotswolds Farm cottage, late 1920s
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Two deckchairs and a watering can in a garden
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Muses: Landscape, c 1961
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The Artist and his Muses, c 1961
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Studies for watering can, mid 1930’s
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Compositional study for The Pleasures of Life, c.1927
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Gourd
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Study of plant bulbs, circa 1940
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Mural design for Campion Hall – fleeing figures, circa 1940
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The Artist’s Hand, c.1940
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Adam and Eve Dancing, 1934
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Orange box (TRYPTICH)
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Allegory in an allotment, circa 1935
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The original full size cartoon for The Garden, 1950
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Muse: Study for Music, 1928
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Study for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, c.1935
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Compositional study for The pleasures of Life at Morley College, 1928-30
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Nude Study
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Drapery Study for a Muse, 1927
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Still life in an orange box with Sweet Williams and Iris
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Illustration to a Fable
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
The Artist and His Muses, c.1950
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The return of the prodigal son, mid 1920’s
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Digs at Ambleside, c.1940
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
The Artist’s bedroom at The Queens Hotel, Ambleside, circa 1941
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Gas Mask Drill (oval with sketch to top right), 1939
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Street scene with children wearing gas masks, circa 1940
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Sunflowers
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Still life with paint pot and flowers in a vase
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Washing Hanging to Dry
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
The hearth at Oak Cottage, circua 1938
SKU: 2155
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Still life of bread, brioche and a knife, circa 1935
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
A bouquet of sunflowers, daisies, pears and gourds
£1,950
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study of Ipomoea, morning glory
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
The Artist picking Sunflowers
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Adam and Eve Seen through a Window, 1935
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Tulip leaves, (recto); apples branch and bamboo (verso) late 1940s
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Colour study for The Raising of Lazareth, c.1925
SKU: 1745
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Lily heads and stems, 1950s
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
The beach at Pevensey, circa 1958
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
View along Oak Cottage garden, circa 1940
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study of a Sunflower, late 1940s
Private
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Ambleside, View from the Library Roof, circa 1942
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Tuscany Roses
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
End of the School Day, 1938
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Woodburner with Cosmos in a vase
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Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Still Life with Celery on a blue and white dish
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Two boys playing on a street pavement
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study for The Birth of the Virgin, c. 1942
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study for Yellow Ox-eye Daisies, mid 1950s
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study for the altar wall, Annunciation in an Allotment, c.1942
Forthcoming
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
The Wise and Foolish Virgins, circa 1928