Share

License image

Margaret Clarke , Irish, 1884-1961

Title

Bath Time at the Crèche

Datec.1925

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

127 x 101 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 1982

Object numberNGI.4359

Label TextInspired by a family holiday in Laytown, Co. Meath, this painting is at once an elaborate fiction and an intimate domestic record. Julia O’Brien, Clarke’s favourite model and nanny to her three children (who can be seen together on the left), was the model for both adult figures. The seated boy is Terry Clarke, the artist’s nephew, who also reappears in the background. Throughout the composition are items from the Clarke home. The black infant may have been inspired by a carved head of a baby that was also in the family’s possession.