Procession, mid-1930s

Private Collection

Gerald Edward Moira (1867 - 1959)

SKU: 527

Signed
Oil on canvas, 29 7/8 x 39 3/4 in. (76 x 101 cm.)

Size:
Height – 76cm
Width – 101cm

DESCRIPTION

Provenance:
private collection since 1970

Presentation:
framed

Provenance: private collection since 1970

This scene is likely to have been painted in Spain, where Moira (who was of
Portuguese
parentage) travelled extensively. During Holy Week and on other saints’
days it was common practice to carry wooden figures of the Virgin while
on Holy Processions, often on small pilgrimages between villages. The
girls in white are novitiates and are depicted here as young and
frivolous before taking their vows of chastity, humour being added to
the scene as their white habits are buffeted by the wind.
Compositionally the painting is typical of Moira’s decorative approach,
with a dynamic procession in the foreground, set against a flat and
stylised landscape in the background (cf. The Cornish Floral Dance,
repr. Harold Watkins, The Art of Gerald Moira, London 1922, plate 21).

We are grateful to Michael Barker and Magdeline Evans for assistance.

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THE ARTIST

Gerald Edward

Moira

1867 - 1959

Painter, mural decorator and teacher, born in London of Portuguese origin. He studied at Royal Academy Schools, 1887’89, winning several prizes, having been earlier tutored and encouraged by his father, Eduardo Lobo da Moira (1817’1887), a miniature painter who had served in the Portuguese diplomatic service.

Moira failed to win the Royal Academy gold medal only by the casting vote of its president, Sir Frederick Leighton. On leaving the Schools Moira immediately set up studio in London and received a number of important portrait commissions.

Gerald Moira showed at the RA from 1891, IS from 1899, was member of NPS and RWA, and held senior positions in ROI and RWS. He went on to become professor of mural and decorative painting at the Royal College of Art, 1900’22, then principal of Edinburgh College of Art, 1924’32.

In addition to teaching he carried out a formidable number of large commissions, including decorations for the old Trocadero Restaurant, in Shaftesbury Avenue; ceiling for the boardroom of Lloyd’s Register; a frieze for the Passmore Edwards Free Library, in Shoreditch; work at the Central Criminal Court; as well as work in private houses, church decoration and many easel pictures.

His compositions were confidently designed, tidy in execution and rich in colour. Examples of his work are in the collections of the Tate, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and Glasgow Art Gallery. He died in Northwood, Middlesex.

Selected Literature
Harold Watkins, The Art of Gerald Moira, London, 1922.

We are grateful to Chris Mees for assistance.

MORE PICTURES BY ARTIST

Private
Collection

Gerald Edward Moira (1867 - 1959)

Procession, mid-1930s

Private
Collection

Gerald Edward Moira (1867 - 1959)

The Man With The Red Hat, 1929