Hilda Geralda van Stockum, Irish, 1908-2006
Title: Portrait of Jan van Stockum, the Artist's Brother
Medium: Lithograph on paper
Dimensions:
42.5 x 29.5 cm
Signed: lower right: Jan. Dec 1932/ HvS
Credit Line: Bequeathed, 2018
Object Number: NGI.2018.16
DescriptionHilda Gerarda van Stockum was a Dutch-born painter, writer and illustrator. The daughter of a Rotterdam based naval officer, she came to Ireland in her teens to study at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. Patrick Tuohy was one of her teachers and her early work reflects his influence. Her art is traditional, featuring figurative portraits and still-life, with sensitivity to light being one of her work’s strongest characteristics. Her reputation outside Ireland rests more on her literary work. Her illustrated books for children (including The Mitchells, Kersti and Saint Nicholas, and A Day on Skates) are characterised by their vivid depictions of family life. Published accounts of her art student days give a valuable insight into the Irish art world of the late 1920s. Her contemporaries included Sean O’Sullivan, Nano Reid and Stella Steyn. Her marriage to Erwin Marlin, a diplomat, led her to live in a number of different countries including Switzerland, Canada and the US. Following her retirement to the UK, she renewed her ties with Ireland and was honoured by a retrospective exhibition at the RHA Gallagher Gallery in 1990. She died in Hertfordshire in 2006.
ProvenanceBequeathed, the Artist's daughter, 2018