Charles Mahoney
(1903 - 1968)
Set Design, c.1926-30
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Size:
Height – 46cm
Width – 36cm
Mahoney’s interest in formal gardens and plants such as auriculas and old roses ‚all deeply unfashionable at the time
‚ is typical of the originality and independence of his vision. His unbridled enthusiasm for plants was shared with
Edward Bawden, Geoffrey Rhoades, John Nash and Evelyn Dunbar, with whom he swapped cuttings by post. The
correspondence between this circle is full of exchanges about the discovery, nurturing and drawing of new potential
subjects. Mahoney’s plant studies are so remarkably complete in their own right that it is barely possible to attempt to
mark a line between botanical study and still life. The two became one and the same; and although some of his
compositions were clearly arranged, they rarely appear contrived.
Mahoney bought the best quality materials, often from Lechertier Barbe, in Jermyn Street. He prepared boards and
canvases for painting with much care, using special recipes. In his own words: “The practical lesson to be learned is
that ground and underpainting always have some effect on the final painting, even when it is not apparent, and that
pictures must be carefully built up with this point in mind.‚Äù His oil paints were artist’s colours, which he applied with
Hogshair and Sable brushes. He made extensive notes on pigments so that he was familiar with the chemical
properties of each colour. For his mural schemes he mixed his oil paints with wax, applied to canvas that had been
fixed to the wall before painting commenced. His favourite frames were purchased in the 50s and 60s from Robert
Savage of South Kensington. These were beautifully made from a wide choice of mouldings and colourways.
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.
