On the beach, Broadstairs, Kent

Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples' broad range of both subject matter and media testifies to the professional and personal pleasure he took in his art. An Irish painter who eventually settled in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, he prolonged his studies over a decade, and was affiliated to eminent European academies in Dresden, Louvain and Brussels. He enjoyed travel, later visiting Australia and North America. Prolific and committed, Staples taught at the People's Palace, Mile End, and belonged to several established Art societies. His ouevre encompasses portraiture, genre scenes and landscapes and frequently he blurs the boundaries between these. His portraits are often quite informal, locating the sitter in a dramatic environment; their intimate drama is accentuated by the foregrounding of the figure in a busy space. This is what occurs here, as the flat horizon creates an opposing axis to the wind-swept figure. The model may be Staples' daughter, whose fair hair distinguishes her in other paintings. Staples earned considerable success from his depiction of both contemporary figures and events. His sitters included Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt and members of the Royal Family.