Francis Wiles, Irish (1889-1956) "Resting Nude," marble, si...

Hammer

€1,150

Francis Wiles, Irish (1889-1956)

"Resting Nude," marble, signed  and dated 'F. Wiles, 1932' approx. 20"high x 30" long. (1)

Naturalistic, but with a degree of stylisation, Frank Wile’s marble sculpture Seated Woman depicts a nude figure, turning, with her head resting on her hands. Both the woman and the rock she sits on are carved from one piece of stone. The artist’s working of stone, and his depiction of the human form, reveals the influence of Oliver Sheppard, and in turn Auguste Rodin. The smooth polished legs and arms of the woman contrast with areas of stone left roughly chiselled. The theme of this work relates closely to Wiles’s 1914 bronze The Dawn of Womanhood, in the Ulster Museum,

 

Born in Larne, Co. Antrim, Francis Wiles was the son of David, a civil servant, and Margaret Wiles, an accomplished woodcarver. Francis—or Frank as he was known—studied at the Belfast School of Art under Seamus Stoupe, and also at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin, where his tutor was Oliver Sheppard. He assisted Sheppard and also later taught at the Metropolitan School. Wiles was a prize-winning student, winning the Patterson scholarship at the Belfast School of Art, and a Gold Medal at the MSA in 1913. During his career, he specialised in portraits and figurative sculpture and allegorical works. He became a member of the Royal Ulster Academy, and also exhibited at the RHA, RA and RSA. Among the public sculptures he worked on are the War Memorial in Newcastle, Co. Down. This was designed by Lady Mabel Annesley, who commissioned Wiles to sculpt a lion, using granite from the Mourne mountains, in a style that echoes Assyrian and ancient Egyptian sculpture. In 1927 hr exhibited a granite sketch design for the lion at the RHA. That same year he showed a bronze relief portrait of the President of the Supreme Court in the Irish Republic, J. Creed Meredith, at an exhibition of “Irish Portraits by Ulster artists”. A memorial exhibition of Wiles’s work was held at the Old Museum, Belfast, in 1958. There is also a sculpture by him at St. Columba’s College in Dublin.

Peter Murray 2024

Provenance: The Bell Gallery, the Personal Collection of Nelson Bell.
SEE LOT 600