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Lot 172 Whilst in Paris in 1905 Gerald Kelly fell in love with a young dancer, with whom he lived in Montmartre. When she left him in 1908 Kelly was devastated, and at the suggestion of his friend Somerset Maugham he decided to travel to Burma inspired by some photographs he had admired of Burmese dancers. Maugham gave him £50 to finance the expedition, and in late summer 1908 Kelly set sail. On the boat over he met an Old Etonian who was being posted to Mandalay as District Judge, and with whom Kelly stayed for the majority of his trip. From November 1908 to April 1909 Kelly remained in Burma, industriously painting a large number of landscapes and studies of Burmese dancers. He loved Mandalay and wrote ‘Try and imagine how beautiful it was. A square mile surrounded by high, cosy brick walls and sunrise and sunset all over it. And how sweet the women and children were…’
The majority of the pictures by Gerald Kelly in this collection date from his Burmese period, although there are a number painted on his 1936-7 tour of Cambodia and China.
The majority of the pictures by Gerald Kelly in this collection date from his Burmese period, although there are a number painted on his 1936-7 tour of Cambodia and China.
Sir Gerald Festus Kelly, K.C.V.O., P.R.A., R.H.A. (1879-1972)
Sûn VI
Closed4 June 2014
Price Realised
GBP 2,750