Gyrth and the Nudes..

Finally I get around to the tales of Gyrth and the Nudes..! ..but well worth the wait because they are very funny tales !..so after leaving Canada Gyrth studied in the early part of the 20th c. in Paris and apparently nearly everyday consisted of figure studies i.e. nude young Parisian girl models ..this is one of the only remaining pictures from that time as we will explain..

.. Gyrth had hundreds of these nude studies when he married Ronagh his second wife who was several years younger than Gyrth , very intelligent and strong-willed. And so whilst they lived in a riverside apartment in Topsham , Devon and after a strong exchange of views with his new young wife Ronagh ( ! ) he threw most of his nude studies into the river .. only to realize that the estuary was tidal and all the nude pictures were being washed back up-river and onto the shore for the locals to pick up as the tide had turned!

After this Ronagh did agree to model for a few pictures nude after they had moved to Penarth in Sth. Wales but with the stipulation that the `facial` features were to be left more `blurred` or indistinct.. because Ronagh was the Head-mistress at a local school for young ladies and often had the young pupils back for extra tuition to her house , and certainly did not want any of the girls seeing the nude paintings and recognising their headmistress in them!

There were 3 nudes of Ronagh each entitled somewhat tongue-in-cheek by Gyrth as (above) ` Middle piece` of which I only have this b&w reproduction from the Gallery catalogue from 1972..

`Tail-piece` ( above ) which is a `tour-de-force ` of modern-British nude art ..and

`Front-piece` with the beautiful cup and saucer in the foreground too.. I tried to buy this from Ronagh years ago for £2000.00 but she said that although she wasnt selling any of Gyrths paintings at that moment she would let me have first chance if she decided to..

Ronagh died last year ( 2006 ) and will be greatly missed by me and all her many friends and she actually left me this painting in her will ..

Gyrths work is still greatly under-rated but i`m sure will soon be valued more appropriately when compared to KW`s and McIntyres etc. ( Only my personal opinion ! )