Sir Alfred Munnings (British, 1878-1959) The Gypsy Girl c.19...

Estimate

£50,000 - £80,000

Sir Alfred Munnings (British, 1878-1959)
The Gypsy Girl
c.1920
Oil on bevelled panel
Inscribed verso, 'The Gypsy Girl c.1920 / Sir Alfred Munnings K.C.V.O P.R.A' and inscribed, 'Codner' to stretcher in white chalk 

Munnings was captivated by the colour and nomadic life of the gypsies and befriended many of the families. He professes in his An Artist's Life, of 1950 that "more glamour and excitement were packed into those six weeks than a painter could well contend with. I still have visions of brown faces, black hair, earrings, black hats and black skirts; of lithe figures of women and children, of men with lurcher dogs and horses of all kinds. I still recall the never-ceasing din around their fires as the sun went down, with blue smoke curling amongst the trees. I think of crowded days of work – too swiftly gone.” 

Provenance:
A gift from the artist to Maurice Codner R.P, a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters;
Thence by descent 

Dimensions:
(Frame) 17.5 in. (H) x 21.5 in. (W)
(Panel) 12 in. (H) x 16 in. (W)