Lyndra by the Pool

Derwent Lees 1885 - 1931

Summary

Full length impressionistic portrait of Lyndra Lees, wife of the artist, against an idealised landscape setting. She is shown seated on the banks of a small pool, surrounded by grasses and reeds, dipping one foot gently into the water. Behind her the ground rises steeply up to a dark hillside, silhouetted against the pale sky. The landscape is comprised of a patchwork of flat coloured planes, such as yellow, green and salmon pink. Daubs of paint in the hills and sky represent tonal variation in the landscape.

Display Label

Lyndra by the Pool 1914 Derwent Lees 1885 - 1931 Oil on panel Lyndra was Lees’ wife and favourite model at this time. Here she is dressed in the flowing, unstructured clothes that became known as ‘the Augustus John look’. She posed for a series of similar works made in Wales inspired by John’s paintings of his own wife, Dorelia. The highly-coloured, decorative landscape owes much to those of J D Innes (1887-1914) with whom Lees also painted in North Wales. Australian-born Lees had a rather tragic life. One of his legs was amputated after a riding accident and his mental health deteriorated so badly that from 1918 until his death he lived in a mental hospital. Purchased 1937.731