Nude on a tiger skin

Shannon enjoyed international success as a portrait specialist from the 1880s through the first decades of the twentieth century. Occasionally, however, he explored subjects designated by one reviewer as 'works in which the conditions of orthodox portraiture did not have to be observed.' The artist executed very few finished works featuring the nude female figure, among them The Bathers and the Green Apple (both circa 1921), both of which were included in a small exhibition of paintings from Shannon’s estate held at London’s Leicester Galleries a few months following his death. Admired by critics as 'delicious indulgences' painted by the artist whose activity as a portraitist had been curtailed by ill health, these excursions outside of his usual subject matter were positive demonstrations of a talent limited by the restrictions of portraiture. The present canvas depicting a lithesome young model is possibly one of two works in the Leicester exhibition listed as Study of a Nude Figure. The solidly modelled form of the figure contrasts markedly with the freely painted backdrop and tiger skin on which she reclines. The bright yellow and blue passages of colour are characteristic of the palette of the artist’s late years.
We are grateful to Barbara Gallati for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.