Sir Gerald Kelly Jane 1930 Royal Academy Gallery Painting Postcard

RA5  This is a beautiful undated but modern published official postcard from Londons Royal Academy Of Arts for this historic 1930 painting by Sir Gerald Kelly of Jane with artist details, dates, dimensions etc & Royal Academy Of Arts logo on reverse being the official souvenir from when exhibited unused and mint. 

In 1920 Kelly married Lilian Ryan, a young artists model, who first sat for him in 1916. Kelly re-named his wife Jane and painted her no fewer than fifty times in varying guises and poses throughout his career. He exhibited a portrait of her nearly every year at the Royal Academy with the simple title Jane and roman numerals referring to the year that the painting was first exhibited at the Academy.

The glamorous image portrayed here of a richly dressed woman in evening attire is in fact a studio concoction. Apparently Jane had bought a yard of moiré silk to fashion into a strap of a dress as well as some velvet onto which she attached a fur collar. The challenge of painting various contrasting materials with a high degree of finish was one that Kelly relished.