Lot 89: May Guinness 1863-1955 BRETON WOMEN Oil on panel,

May Guinness 1863-1955 BRETON WOMEN Oil on panel, 7½" x 9½" (19 x 24cm), signed with monogram.
Provenance: James Adams, 7th December 2005.
In 1894 May travelled with Mildred Anne Butler to study painting under Norman Garstin at Newlyn, Cornwall. She exhibited several works at the RHA between 1897 & 1911, however she had a falling out with them and never exhibited there again.
From 1910 she visited France on a regular basis painting scenes of fairs and weddings in Brittany. In 1914 at the age of fifty one she left Ireland and joined the French army as a military nurse. This heroic gesture was recognised by the French authorities and she received medals of honour at the end of hostilities. Throughout a long life she exhibited her work in both Paris, London and Dublin to wide acclaim. This small, beautifully executed work shows how skilled she was.