“Anne Magill is a witness, who bears testimony to a series of infinitely still and silent human scenes by means of her painting. The great power of her work is her Hopper-like genius to compel us to weave a story, conjured from our own repertoire about these scenes. Though we do not know the men or women we feel we recognise them, as they stand gazing at an event we cannot see or walking, face hidden under a hat, towards a destination of which we are unaware… Standing entranced before one of her paintings we become convinced that we will understand, eventually, the human truth which inspired the image.”

Josephine Hart

The Homecoming – Acrylic on panel – 50 ½ x 50 ½ ins – 128 x 128 cm
Cadence – Oil on canvas – 69.85 x 170.18 cm

Anne’s work as an artist has grown out of this deep empathy with the lives of people and her ability to share that tenderness through her paintings. The completeness of Magill’s finished paintings might suggest that each subject was fixed in her mind from the outset and then committed to canvas, but every painting evolves differently, imposing its own demands and directions, over months and, occasionally years, until something convincing begins to emerge and Anne sees the end in sight. Its resolution is that moment when Anne can harness the world she has created within the painting, to the imagined lives of the subjects she depicts. She remains a neutral observer, watching on unseen, unnoticed, but always thinking how an image can elicit meaning. When all these forces coalesce, and the painting provokes its own set of questions, then it is finished.

John Martin

Moonlight – Acrylic on canvas – 47 ¼ x 47 ¼ ins – 120 x 120 cm
Murmur – Watercolour – 61.01 x 61.01 cm

“Though we do not know the men or women we feel we recognise them, as they stand gazing at an event we cannot see or walking, face hidden under a hat, towards a destination of which we are unaware… Standing entranced before one of her paintings we become convinced that we will understand, eventually, the human truth which inspired the image.”.

Josephine Hart

In the studio
A Calm – pastel & charcoal on paper – 6 x 8 ¼ ins – 15 x 21 cm

* In home page: Steadfast – Oil on panel – 38 x 40.5 cm

Anne Magill was born in Co. Down Northern Ireland in 1962. She studied in Liverpool before moving to London to complete her degree at St. Martin’s School of Art. After graduating in 1984, Anne Magill worked as an illustrator where she quickly built a reputation for her evocative drawings in charcoal and pastel, winning the B&H Gold Illustration Awards four times. Alongside her work as a commercial artist, she started to experiment with more intimate charcoal drawings based on memories reflecting her time spent with the army in Belfast, at Greenham Common and in Paris during her studies. The rapid, reportage drawings she made during this time became the precursor to a mature style in which her highly atmospheric paintings are built from anonymous, intimate images, appearing like memories frozen in time.

Two pieces of Anne ‘The Three’ and ‘Homeward’, are included in the @sothebys British and Irish Art sale. 

All paintings copyright Anne Magill. REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED, means that the resale and reproduction, even partial, in any manner and form, of Anne Magill’ paintings are prohibited. Anyone wishing to use the contents must have to ask in any case written authorization to Anne Magill.

Artist: Anne Magill @annemagillartist – Represented by The John Martin Gallery, London  @johnmartingallery – www.jmlondon.com