Greys Court from the North West
James Lynch (b.1965)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1993
Materials
Tempera, Gesso, MDF (Medium-density fibreboard)
Measurements
850 x 1140 mm
Place of origin
Henley-on-Thames
Order this imageCollection
Greys Court, Oxfordshire
NT 196021
Summary
Framed egg tempera painting on gesso-coated MDF panel. Greys Court from the North West by James Lynch (b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire 1965), 1993. Landscape painting of the exterior of Greys Court from the rear.
Full description
Tempera painting on panel, Greys Court from the North West by James Lynch (b. Hitchin, Hertfordshire 1965), 1993. Landscape painting of the exterior of Greys Court from the rear. James Lynch is a successful modern landscape painter and has been awarded prizes from the Royal Academy, the Elizabeth Greenfields Foundation and the Spectator. He was commissioned by Lady Brunner through the Maas Gallery to create a painting of Greys Court in the early 1990s. Lynch purposely chose a non-conventional view of the house, which was approved by Lady Brunner when they jointly discussed composition on Lynch's visit to Greys Court. In preparation for this particular painting, Lynch was invited to come and stay at Greys Court for a couple of days to make preliminary sketches from which he later worked. Completed in tempera on panel, Lynch creates his own paints using pigments, egg yolk (from the eggs of his own chickens) and water. The panel is prepared with gesso made from rabbit skin glue and whiting, then coated onto MDF before painting. When visiting, Lynch stayed overnight in the old children's nursery on the top floor of the house. In the middle of the night, he experience the sensation of a clammy hand touching his face while half awake to make the experience even more sinister! When lady Brunner was showing him around the house the next day, they came across the cast of Sir Henry Irving's hand in a cabinet. He didn't tell her of his experience the night before, so was even more shocked to hear that he was renowned for frightening the children with the shapes it made!
Provenance
Commissioned by Lady Elizabeth Brunner through the Maas Gallery in 1993 and gifted to the National Trust from her estate, 2005.
Makers and roles
James Lynch (b.1965), artist