James le Jeune was born in Canada in 1910 of an Irish Mother and his father, a musician was of French and English decent. He studied art in London, Paris and New York, serving in North Africa during the Second World War. Exhibiting in London and Scotland in the late 1940’s, he moved to Ireland in 1950 and in 1951 began exhibiting at the Royal Hibernian Academy, where, with the exception of a few years, he was a regular exhibitor until 1982. Meanwhile, he continued to exhibit in London at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Watercolour Society and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. Le Jeune’s first one man show was held at the Victor Waddington Galleries, Dublin in 1954. By 1961 he had a studio at Baggot Lane and became a full member of the RHA in 1973. His many portraits included the comedian Jimmy O’Dea now in the National Collection. Perhaps, best known for his depiction of children playing on the beach, the present work on offer demonstrates his outstanding ability.