Information on Dolores Courtney is a little ‘thin on the ground’. In fact there are only four known extant paintings by her. The two oils in my collection came from Roger Fry’s estate. She worked alongside Nina Hamnett at the Omega Workshops between 1915-1917 and there is a remarkable portrait of Dolores (titled The Student), painted by Nina in 1917 that is held in the Ferens Art Gallery (Kingston upon Hull).
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| Nina Hamnett 'The Student' - portriat of Dolores Courtney |
She
was born in Russia; her father was in the diplomatic service and the family has
Spanish connections. Went to Paris to study, joined the Brangwyn School
in London, and then returned to Paris, attending one of the academies (possibly
Vichy). She
married an American (R. Courtney) and settled in London around 1914.
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| Still Life by Dolores Courtney from my collection (prov Roger Fry) |
Dolores
worked for Roger Fry at the Omega Workshops from about 1915-1917 where with
Nina Hamnett and other contemporary artists she worked decorating and painting.
In 1916 Fry received a commission For the Omega Workshops to decorate a room in Berkeley Street for Arthur
Ruck who dealt in object d’art and old master paintings. Two coloured illustrations
in the Colour Magazine of June 1916
show two of the four painted walls in one room; one by Fry and the other by
Courtney. The scene painted by Dolores Courtney on the right of the mantelpiece,
where two figures step out across a pink park in billowing grey and white
dresses, has a breezy energy. The article in the Colour Magazine stated: ‘The subjects chosen are scenes of contemporary
London life such as may be found in proximity to a Tube station, a London park,
or in any street in the suburbs or West End.’
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| Mural for Arthur Ruck - Courtney's panel. Image from Colour Magazine 1916 |
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| Mural for Arthur Ruck - Roger Fry's panel. Image from Colour Magazine 1916 |
Her
style during the Omega period reveals a thorough knowledge of contemporary
French and Russian art. The art historian Judith Collins met with Dolores in
the 1970’s when researching her book on the Omega Workshops. Judith
Collins writes ‘so little of Courtney’s work is known that it is hard to divine
her central artistic aims, except to say that she shared with Hamnett at this
time a concern for simple and bold realisations, often in strong jarring
colours.
Fry
organised an exhibition at the Omega in 1917 titled ‘Copies and Translation.’
Omega artists were asked to contribute copies they had made of old masters.
Dolores Courtney contributed the painting below, which rather than being an old
master, was a copy of Derain's Samedi. It is smaller than the original and Dolores
painted in Indian reds, yellow ochres and warm browns rather than the greys,
ochres and blacks of the original. I bought this many years ago; it came from
Fry’s collection.
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| Dolores Courtney copy of Derain's Samedi 1917 (from my collection) |
In
1920 Dolores returned to Paris to live. Roger Fry was known to have used her
studio there in 1921. She was friendly with Fry’s sister, Pamela when she moved
to Paris in the early 1920’s. I am still to discover more of her life after
1920.
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