Rosemary Ryan, Croquet

The Artist

Rosemary Ryan was born in Tasmania in 1926. Ryan studied at the National Gallery School and George Bell School in Melbourne in the 1940s and 1950s before going onto study further in London. Her works are best known for evoking a pre World War Two country lifestyle and she is known for being one of the George Bell art circle members.

The Work of Art

Painted using oils onto hardboard, the scene Ryan has depicted is a group of young girls in white dresses playing croquet on a garden lawn. The work stands out for its vivid colours both with the lawn and the trees in the garden. Much like a memory, the colours seem to be enhanced. the of the paint for the trees is so smooth, it could well be a fine print cut onto a light blue background. It is almost as if the scene wasn't painted but imagined onto the board by the artist. The scene itself seems much like a housian image from the 'golden days'. But this is precisely what Rosemary Ryan is best known for.