Tempera on wood panel, 89 x 53 cm. Painted after Jellett returned from Paris, where she and Evie Hone had studied under Andre Lhote and then Albert Gleizes, Decoration is built by analysing rhythm, colour and form rather than by depicting anything. Its pentagonal format, restricted palette and choice of media deliberately recall the religious icons of the Madonna and Child, so an essentially abstract painting carries the shape of a much older pictorial tradition. The generic title is part of the same intent.
Shown alongside another abstract work at the Society of Dublin Painters group show in October 1923, it caused a furore. The Irish Times reviewer saw only "squares, cubes, odd shapes and clashing colours" and called the work an insoluble puzzle; another journalist wrote of the "sub-human art of Miss Jellett". She kept working. Decoration was bequeathed to the National Gallery of Ireland by Evie Hone in 1955, and has since been exhibited at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Crawford Art Gallery.
Mainie Jellett (1897-1944), born in Dublin, studied under William Orpen before training at the Westminster Art School in London and then in Paris with Andre Lhote and Albert Gleizes. With Evie Hone she exhibited the first abstract paintings shown in Ireland in 1923, and went on to found the Irish Exhibition of Living Art. Her work hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland.
Sizes & Format
30x45 cm / 12x18"
40x60 cm / 16x24"
60x90 cm / 24x36"
100x150 cm / 40x60"
Available framed (black, white, wood) or unframed
Print & Frame Details
Archival matte paper, 250gsm (110lb), acid-free and FSC-certified - off-white, uncoated. Framed prints: solid oak or ash wood frame, 20mm thick, with shatterproof protective glazing. Ready to hang, hanging kit included. Unframed prints up to A4 ship flat; larger sizes ship rolled in a protective tube.
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Framed prints are packed with protective corners and wrap, boxed with reinforced edges, and braced with internal supports for extra rigidity (max 3 frames per package). Every order ships free, made to order and delivered from the hub closest to you: Ireland 3-7 business days, UK 4-8, USA 5-10, Canada 6-12, Australia 7-14.
