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Copyright © 2008-2011 Hargrave Fine Art, Geddington, Northants

Maud Hall Neale

Antibes, Cote d’Azur, France

The Painting

An oil on board behind glass measuring 13¼" x 17¼". Signed Maud Hall Neale. Label verso: “Antibes / by Mrs Maud Hall Neale / 41 Castle Street Liverpool”. Provenance: sometime with W. Johnson, 3 Kensington High Street, London W8.

About the Artist

Maud Hall Neale (fl. 1889-1938) was born in Waterloo, near Liverpool, the daughter of William Rutherford. She studied art in Paris under Delecluse and married the artist George Hall Neale. During the years 1889-38 she exhibited at the Royal Academy (40), Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and Liverpool Academy of Arts. She left Liverpool in 1916 and moved to Airlie Gardens in Kensington, London W8. Her work is represented in the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

The Subject

Antibes. The old town of Antibes on the Cote d’Azur, south of France, is situated on a rocky headland facing Nice and the Baie des Anges. It is still confined within the original walls, which follow the Roman defences. The church was founded in the 12th century and almost all of it has now disappeared except for the square tower visible in the painting. One outstanding feature is the castle tower built on a terrace jutting out to the sea. It was originally a Roman bastion, then a residence of the Bishops for several centuries, and then the castle of the Grimaldi family until 1608. Another outstanding feature is the 16th century ramparts, built on solid rock and rising straight out of the sea.