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Mary Swanzy is best known for her Cubist paintings of which A Hilltop Town in the South of France is a masterly example of her unique interpretation of the style. This painting was once part of a collection that graced the private rooms of Beaulieu House, Drogheda. Swanzy was possibly the only Irish artist to work on landscapes in this modernist vein.
Unlike the later work of Evie Hone and Mainie Jellett, she didn’t study under Andre Lhote or Albert Gleizes. Her approach, as with all of her eclectic oeuvre, was to interrogate the ever-changing landscape of modernist painting for her own truth.
The flattened plane of A Hilltop Town in the South of France takes an almost mathematical interpretation of the trees in the foreground and the solid volumetric forms of the buildings. Balancing form with colour in this light-filled painting, Swanzy uses perspective and depth of field against the formal laws of Cubism.
Her playful sense of colour is evident in the pink blossoms of trees dotting the canvas and lilac highlights of the harbour at its central focal point. The overlapping curvilinear lines indicate shifts in colour, generating a very active dynamic rhythm to the painting.
The style of this work is probably best placed with the Orphic Cubism of Swanzy’s contemporary Robert Delaunay who was featured at the 1914 Salon des Indépendants when Swanzy first exhibited in Paris.
Liz Cullinane, October 2026
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John ffrench was an instrumental figure in the design industry in Ireland and a distinguished pioneer of Irish studio pottery.
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"I should declare my hand. I have a weakness for pictures that punch above their physical weight, and for artists who have been quietly underrated for too long. This pair is both. They are intimate enough to live with at close quarters and serious enough to repay any amount of looking. If the market has lately shown signs of catching up with eighteenth-century Irish painting and I think it has, these two small panels feel, to me, like exactly the sort of thing that will look obvious in twenty years’ time."
Adam’s is honoured to present works from the collection of Lord Rossmore in the upcoming Country House Collections auction at Howth Castle on 28th April. It is seldom that an influential Irish family collection that has survived through the generations comes to the open market.
Works Sold at Adam’s Now in the Irish National Collection
A great opportunity to purchase both established and lesser-known artist’s work at an accessible price point, the Online Picture Auction is the first of many sales to be hosted at Adam’s in 2026. It is perfect for those looking to start a collection and the discerning collector alike.
Through this article, let our expert Adam Pearson guiding you to the (re)discovery of the once established Irish painter Richard O’Neill.
Buying at Auction and the Role of Antiques in a Modern Home
James Adam & Sons Ltd, Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers, 26 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2,
D02 X665, Ireland
