Le masque vert (The Green Mask) Oswald Birley, 1922

Miss Muriel Gore in a Fortuny gown, 1919 Oswald Birley

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   Oswald Birley

Dancer in costume for the ballet Le Coq d'Or, 1938.

Oswald Birley (British, 1880–1952) • The Green Masque (Rhoda Birley, (1900–1981) • 1922 • The artist's estate

Oswald Birley, David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, 1936

Oswald Birley (British, 1880-1952) • The Nurse • 1921

Oswald Birley - The Nurse (Margaret Elizabeth Barrett), 1921

Born on 8 February 1903, Margaret Elizabeth Barrett (1903-1980) was 18 years old when this portrait was painted in 1921. Her father, Dr. Edmund Howard Barrett (1842-1921), was a physician who treated Oswald Birley, and in lieu of payment, Birley suggested that he might paint Dr. Barrett’s portrait. Dr. Barrett responded, “I am too old and ugly, paint my daughter instead!” The result is the present work – one of Birley’s most captivating portraits from the early 1920s. (source)

King George VI by Oswald Birley (1939)

Oswald Hornby Joseph Birley (1880-1952, British) ~  Dancer in the Coq D'or Ballet, 1938 

[Source: philipmould.com]

"Le masque vert" • (1922) • oswald birley

The Uses of Sorrow, Mary Oliver//Le masque vert (The Green Mask), Oswald Birley, 1922

Queen Mary of Great Britain. By Sir Oswald Birley.

PROFILE: Sir Oswald Birley

ABOVE: Sir Oswald Birley with his wife Rhoda (née Lecky Pike) and daughter Maxime, 1930s. Photo by Cecil Beaton // © NPG

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Sir Oswald Hornby Joseph Birley (31 March 1880 – 6 May 1952) was born in New Zealand whilst his British parents were making a world tour. He was educated at Harrow and Cambridge and was drawn to painting while visiting Europe. He enrolled at the Academie Julien in Paris. A trip to Spain followed where Birley fell under the spell of Velazquez.

During World War I he served in France, first with the Royal Fusiliers, later transferring to the Intelligence Corps obtaining the rank of Captain and being awarded the Military Cross in 1919. During World War II he served with the rank of Major in the British Home Guard.

A favourite of the Royal Family, Birley was well known for his portraits of King George V, Queen Mary, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II.

He painted several highly regarded portraits of Sir Winston Churchill (to whom he also gave lessons), and also a life-size portrait of Mahatma Gandhi which was the first to be hung in the Lok Sabha shortly after Indian Independence in 1947.

Birley was knighted in 1949.

Oswald Birley (British, 1880-1952) • Dancer in the Coq D • 1938 • Private collection

Spotlight on artist Sir Oswald Birley (1880–1952)

If you were a person of consequence in the 1920's, 1930's or 1940's, or wanted to choose a suitable portrait painter for a commission of an important member of society, then it is very likely that the artist you would place at the top of your wish list is Oswald Birley . Capable of creating not only a fine likeness but possessing an ability to bring thoughtfulness and empathy to his work, Birley was regarded as the ‘go-to’ portrait painter of the day, a painter who would deliver a work that would capture the essence of the subject and stand the test of time. A frequent subject of his paintings was his wife, Rhoda. Widely regarded as a beauty, she married Birley at the age of 20 when he was 41. Here is a particularly beautiful portrait made by Birley soon after their marriage in 1921. Entitled The Green Masque, it depicts Rhoda in Venetian carnival attire, her alabaster face glowing against a dark background, her eyelashes demurely lowered.

Also of note:

Birley was the first British artist to have a studio built for him in Palm Beach in 1926

In 1931 he painted Mohandas Karamchand ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi, commissioned by the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Sir Prabhashankar Pattani

In 1941 he lost his right eye while supervising a demonstration: an experimental anti-tank which misfired