Gertrude des Clayes (Canadian, 1879-1949)
Untitled: Portrait of a Youth
pastel
(Sight): 16” high x 13 ½” wide
(Framed): 21 1/8″ high x 18 1/2″ wide
Description: A fine Gertrude des Clayes (Canadian, 1879-1949) Canadian School pastel painting. Pictured in this bust length portrait is a young rosy cheeked lad with cherubic face, approximately 4 to 6 years old. His head is turned slightly to his left, and he sits with an attentive studied gaze. His light brown hair is fashionably tousled and he is dressed casually in a yellow loose shirt having a large collar.
Notes: Children were a primary subject for Des Clayes, wherein sentimentalization was carefully avoided, focusing instead on the subject’s freshness, intelligence and energy. Extremely proficient in the use of pastels, the most important of Des Clayes works being in this medium, they allowed flexibility of colour, texture, and expression. The very choice of the pastel as a medium points to Mary Cassatt, and Degas, as does the free treatment of the application, which leaves disclosed the sketchy “brushwork”.
Markings: signed lower left, “G Des Clayes”
(Image): 16” high x 13 ½” wide
(Framed): 21 1/8″ high x 18 1/2″ wide
Artist Biography: Gertrude Des Clayes (Scotland/Canada, 1879-1949) RCA, NPS. Schooling: Trained at the Bushey School of Art, England, and Academie Julian in Paris, under Tony Robert-Fleury and Jule Lefebvre, she lived in London. Awards: Received a medal from the French Salon. Affiliations: Member of the Royal Canadian Academy and National Portrait Society. Best known for her Impressionism.
