Rhododendrons - 1937
Rhododendrons - 1937 - signed Mary Marryat - 88x86 cm.
Exhibited:
Brook Street Galleries - 1940 (one woman show)
According to records, this is the first still life painting that MKH both painted and exhibited. The Rhododendron flower heads fill the canvas and are painted with great confidence and brilliant observation. In later paintings MKH pulled the view point back to reveal other objects in the compositional field of vision such as the vessel containing the flowers, and/or other still life objects such as books, ceramics and tissue paper. This, and the relatively large size of the painting makes this early composition unusual.
Brook Street Galleries - 1940 (one woman show)
According to records, this is the first still life painting that MKH both painted and exhibited. The Rhododendron flower heads fill the canvas and are painted with great confidence and brilliant observation. In later paintings MKH pulled the view point back to reveal other objects in the compositional field of vision such as the vessel containing the flowers, and/or other still life objects such as books, ceramics and tissue paper. This, and the relatively large size of the painting makes this early composition unusual.
Freesias - 1940/1
Mary Kent Harrison - Freesias - 1940/41 -
A particularly beautiful early still life painting.
Exhibited :
R.A. 1941
Exhibited :
R.A. 1941
Still Life - 1941
Exhibited :
Brook Street Galleries - 1940
In this early still life the tissue paper that so fascinated MKH makes its first appearance as a particularly helpful way of defining the space and light in the background of her still life paintings. As time went by she became better and better at coveying its translucency and subtle colours as light passed over and through this material.
Brook Street Galleries - 1940
In this early still life the tissue paper that so fascinated MKH makes its first appearance as a particularly helpful way of defining the space and light in the background of her still life paintings. As time went by she became better and better at coveying its translucency and subtle colours as light passed over and through this material.
Flowers And Brushes - 1945
Exhibited :
Leicester Galleries, 1945.
W.I.A.C. 1948
Leicester Galleries, 1945.
W.I.A.C. 1948
Orchid - 1945
Exhibited :
Leicester Galleries 1945
New English Art Club 1946
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Leicester Galleries 1945
New English Art Club 1946
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Flowers In Pots - 1946 -
Mary Kent Harrison - 'Flowers in Pots' - 1946
Exhibited :
Leicester Galleries 1947.
Cambridge Drawing Society. 1948
'Orchids' also known as 'A Present '- 1947
Mary Kent Harrison - 'Orchids' - also known as 'A Present' 15 3/4'' x 18''.
Exhibited :
1947 Leicester Galleries.
1947 W.I.A.C.
1951 Cambridge Drawing Society.
1952 R.B.A.
1953 R.B.A.
Sold in 1954 in Winnipeg, Canada
Little Primula - 1949 - 10''x16''
Mary Kent Harrison - Little Primula - 10''x16'' - 1949 - Exhibited Leicester galleries - 1950
Late Summer Flowers - 1949
Mary Kent Harrison - 'Late Summer Flowers' - 35x42cm. Oil paint on canvas 1949
Exhibited :
Cambridge Drawing Society - 1949
Arts Council, Norwich 1949
W.I.A.C. 1951
Leicester Galleries 1952
1946 - (title unknown, possibly Christmas Roses)
1949 - (title unknown)
1950 - (title unknown)
1951 - The French Coffee Pot
Mary Kent Harrison - 'The French Coffee Pot' - Oil paint on canvas. 20''x 31'' - 1951.
Exhibited : NEAC 1952. RBA 1953, R.A. 1960
December Flowers - 1957 - Mary Kent Harrison
Mary Kent Harrison - 'December Flowers' - 1957
Exhibited : N.E.A.C. and R.B.A. 1958
R.A. 1959
Gallery One Settle, and Vernon Gallery, Preston 1974
A better photographic image of this painting would reveal even more of the beauty of this stunning composition. The simple vase is placed on the lid of a papier mache box, the tactile quality of which is expertly communicated. The red book cover or other item unknown protruding from underneath, and the material lying forgotten on the floor suggest that this is an unusually ad hoc, spontaneous arrangement. The squares of the chequered vinyl floor melt into shadow under the round table. The soft and furthest away edges of the the box and of the red book cover also melt away in contrast to the crisp clear edges of the the front of the papier mache box and the curved edge of the table. Foreground and distance created, there is available the middle space for the vase and flowers. A glorious display of Chrysanthemums portrayed with confidence and subtlety. The softness of the petals is married with the depth of colour chosen to reveal their form. Highlights and shadows all controlled and with a lightness of touch that is remarkable. Surely a very fine painting.
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1953 - Title unknown
Exhibited :
R.A. 1954
R.A. 1954
Mary Kent Harrison 'Arrangement with Midsummer flowers' 1959/60.
Exhibited :
RBA 1961,
Foyles Gallery 1961,
NEAC 1962,
Wildensteins 1963,
Furneux Gallery, Wimbledon 1970
Still Life with Faience Teapot,
Lilies and Book - 1954 - Mary Kent Harrison
Still Life with Faience Teapot,
Lilies and Book - 1954 - Mary Kent Harrison
Possibly one of MKH's most beautiful still life paintings from the 1950's. This fine quality photographic image shows how incredible these paintings are when seen in colour. Click on the image to see in full size.
Mary Kent Harrison - Petunias - 1956
Mary Kent Harrison - Petunias - 40.5x51cm. 1956 - Oil on canvas. : Exhibited Royal Academy 1957, no. 307.
Many thanks to Sarah Colegrave Fine Art for permission to publish this photograph on this site.
This incredible painting has been professionally cleaned, bringing up the original colours. How fresh it looks. A work of quite extraordinary subtlety, complexity and sensitivity. Studying this painting is, apart from anything else, a masterclass in still life painting. There are thousands of decisions made here by MKH that build up the intensity and beauty of the painting.
Mary Kent Harrison - 'The Italien Drug Jar' - 1952
Mary Kent Harrison - 'The Italian Drug Jar' -1952
Exhibited :
R.B.A. and N.E.A.C. 1953.
R.B.A. 1956
R.A. 1960.
Foyles Gallery 1961
Wildensteins 1963
R.B.A 1971
Gallery One Settle, 1972
Mary Kent Harrison - The Italien Drug Jar - Oil paint on canvas - 1952
Mary Kent Harrison - The Absinthe Jar - 1950
Mary Kent Harrison - 'The Absinthe Jar - 1950'
Exhibited :
R.B.A. 1953
R.B.A. 1960
The relatively good quality of the reproduction of this painting, being in colour, helps the viewer to appreciate the beauty of this painting. Striking composition, drawing and colour communicate the pure joy MKH has experienced in looking at the flowers that she has painted. Very strong, the effect relies upon careful and considered observation, and great skill and discipline in the application of her media. It is interesting to think about the process involved in setting up this, and other still life compositions to be painted. The flowers chosen would have been flowers that she particularly loved. The vessel that contained them likewise. In the immediate background, more often than not, would be coloured tissue paper. By no means easy to paint, MKH uses the tissue paper to set off and contrast the flowers, vase and other items in the still life compositions. She uses the crisp line created by the edge of the paper to explore the space. Within the outline created by the edge of the tracing paper, MKH unflinchingly explores and uses further characteristics of the tracing paper. There are the large, relatively simple areas that she uses to complement the intricacies and complexities of the flower heads. Then there are the smaller areas, incorporating complex folds, bends, curves and sharp corners. These complement the more peaceful areas and create the sense of rhythm and dynamics across the compositions. She is captivated by the effect of light on the paper. There are great subtleties of shadow and transparency. Her eye follows a shadow as it flows across folds of paper and onto a table. The tissue paper often seems to envelop or cradle the main subject of the painting, but without constricting it, as if the flowers had just been unwrapped. The tissue paper seems to present or offer up the flowers to the viewer. In the above painting, the shadow area behind the flowers glows with an intense heat, contrasting with the cool blue decoration on the vase and the blue of the wall behind. The colour of the flowers, expertly mixed, radiate their characteristics in glory against the paper background. Everything is ordered and everything is held together. Everything is seen, and everything is understood. Nothing is out of place, but the complexity is secret so that the viewer need not be troubled or distracted by an awareness of it. There is no work left for the viewer to do. Mary Kent Harrison has done it all, her generosity is complete.
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Flowers And Paper - 1946
Exhibited :
Royal Academy, 1946.
Published in
'The Studio'
1948
Royal Academy, 1946.
Published in
'The Studio'
1948
Flowers And Paper - 1946 (colour image of previous) - Mary Kent Harrison
Photographed from a copy of 'The Studio' printed in February 1948. Included here to give some idea of the colour, but what we see here may be very far from the colour of the real painting due to the age and print quality of the source material.
Still Life With Tulips - 1948
Exhibited :
Leicester Galleries, 1948
Leicester Galleries, 1948
On The White Top
(title to be confirmed) - c1949
Arrangement with African Violets - 1963
Mary Kent Harrison - ..Arrangement with African Violets' - 1963
Exhibited :
Wildensteins 1963.
N.E.A.C. 1964.
R.B.A. 1969.
Furneaux Gallery, Wimbledon, 1970.
Gallery One, Settle, 1972.
Potted Pansy - 1964
Despite the complexity of the background composition involving tissue paper, chequered textile materials and trowel, the centre of attention remains, in great success, the potted Pansy.
Exhibited :
R.B.A. 1965
N.E.A.C. 1968
Gallery One, Settle, 1972
R.B.A. 1965
N.E.A.C. 1968
Gallery One, Settle, 1972
Study With White Cyclamen - 1966
Exhibited : R.B.A. 1967
N.E.A.C. 1968
R.B.A. 1971
Furneaux Gallery, Wimbledon,1970
N.E.A.C. 1968
R.B.A. 1971
Furneaux Gallery, Wimbledon,1970
