Gladys Maccabe
HRUA ROI FRSA. Born in Randalstown, Co. Antrim in 1918, to an artistic couple - her mother Elizabeth was a designer in the linen business, and her father George Chalmers, a former army officer, was an artist specialising in calligraphy and illumination. One of her ancestors was a famous 18th century Scottish painter, Sir George Chalmers.
She had a picture published in the Royal Drawing Society's magazine when she was 16 years old and went on to study at the Belfast College of Art. In 1941 she married fellow artist and musician, the late Max Maccabe. Gladys and Max exhibited together on many occasions, starting in Ireland at Robinson & Cleaver in Belfast, 1942, and in England at the Kensington Art Gallery in 1949.
Gladys formed the Ulster Society of Women Artists in 1957, and she and her husband were members of the Ulster Contemporary Group. Gladys was a fashion and arts correspondent in the 1960s, working for both newspapers and television. In 1961 she was elected a Member of the ROI, and she is also a Royal Ulster Academician, a Fellow of the Royal Fine Arts Society, and has received many honours including the 1984 World Culture Prize.
Her work is both charming and accessible. She has a deep love of people and the human spirit and this comes through most strongly in her paintings. Her photographic memory allows her to store in her mind images, which she can draw on later for inspiration. Most of her work is concerned with the depiction of gatherings of people, whether at race meetings, a fair or a market, the figures are all engaged in the same activity and the knowledge of this, along with the feeling we ourselves have experienced in these very same situations, allows us to be more than just onlookers. Gladys often leads us into the picture by placing figures in the foreground walking into the scene.
Gladys is also well known for her paintings of flowers and still life, where there is a beautiful flamboyance of colour and strength.
Examples of her work are in The Ulster Museum, The Royal Ulster Academy, The Arts Council of Ireland Collection, The Imperial War Museum and many other permanent collections.
She had a picture published in the Royal Drawing Society's magazine when she was 16 years old and went on to study at the Belfast College of Art. In 1941 she married fellow artist and musician, the late Max Maccabe. Gladys and Max exhibited together on many occasions, starting in Ireland at Robinson & Cleaver in Belfast, 1942, and in England at the Kensington Art Gallery in 1949.
Gladys formed the Ulster Society of Women Artists in 1957, and she and her husband were members of the Ulster Contemporary Group. Gladys was a fashion and arts correspondent in the 1960s, working for both newspapers and television. In 1961 she was elected a Member of the ROI, and she is also a Royal Ulster Academician, a Fellow of the Royal Fine Arts Society, and has received many honours including the 1984 World Culture Prize.
Her work is both charming and accessible. She has a deep love of people and the human spirit and this comes through most strongly in her paintings. Her photographic memory allows her to store in her mind images, which she can draw on later for inspiration. Most of her work is concerned with the depiction of gatherings of people, whether at race meetings, a fair or a market, the figures are all engaged in the same activity and the knowledge of this, along with the feeling we ourselves have experienced in these very same situations, allows us to be more than just onlookers. Gladys often leads us into the picture by placing figures in the foreground walking into the scene.
Gladys is also well known for her paintings of flowers and still life, where there is a beautiful flamboyance of colour and strength.
Examples of her work are in The Ulster Museum, The Royal Ulster Academy, The Arts Council of Ireland Collection, The Imperial War Museum and many other permanent collections.
.jpg "Lot 33 - 'Red Flowers'")
