Artists - Part 76

Cornelius McCarthy

Cornelius McCarthy (1935-2009) was a British painter who specialized in the nude male form.

In 1950 he entered Goldsmiths College School of Art.  He was called to National Service (the military draft in Britain), where he continued to draw on whatever materials he could find.  After demobilization, he met Alec Ayres, who would become his lifelong partner.

His style was influenced by Picasso and Keith Vaughan.  Above, Nude Group, 1985 shows some cubist influence ...

as does Two Boys in a Dark Room, 1987.  Note the use of patterns of dots, which became a feature of some later works.

Above: Wrestling With an Angel, 1991.  I don't know if the angel is the white guy or the black guy, but the black guy has an erection.

Pond Edge, 1991.

Chris, Johnny and Jim, 2000.  Note that large portions of the painting, including some of the people, are covered with patterns of dots.

This painting is unnamed and undated, but I'm guessing it's from the same period because of the dots covering much of the image.  And it shows another erection.

The New Gardener, 2002.  Is this how British gardeners get to know their employers?

Sam's Blue Shorts, 2007.

We end with an undated painting.  The website where I found called it Beefy, though I suspect that's not the original title.

Cornelius McCarthy died peacefully at home in 2009.  Several of his paintings have sold at auction, the highest-priced being Two Boys in a Dark Room (the third image in this post), which sold for $3800.