Gorry Gallery December 2015 Exhibition by James Gorry

GORRY GALLERY

GORRY GALLERY 20 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2. Telephone and Fax + 353 (0)1 679 5319 The Gallery is open Monday - Friday 11.30 a.m. - 5.30 p.m. Saturday (during exhibition only) 11.30 a.m. - 2.30 p.m. www.gorrygallery.ie Origination by DOC - the_doc@eircom.net Printing by W&G Baird

FRONT COVER: Alfred Elmore R.A., H.R.H.A. 1815-1881 (detail) Catalogue Number: 1 ÂŠ Gorry Gallery

GORRY GALLERY requests the pleasure of your company at the private view and sale of

An Exhibition of 18th - 21st Century Irish Paintings

On Sunday, 6th December, 2015 Wine 3.00 p.m.

This exhibition can be viewed prior to the opening by appointment also on Friday and Saturday 4th and 5th December from 11.30 a.m. - 5.30 p.m. prior to the opening and sale of exhibition.

www.gorrygallery.ie

All measurements in this catalogue are in centimetres, (height precedes width).

6th - 19th December 2015

1. Alfred Elmore R.A., H.R.H.A. 1815-1881

Beppo, “Laura by the side of her adorer, when lo! the Mussulman was there before her.” (after Byron) Oil on canvas 87 x 114.5 Signed: Inscribed on label on reverse: “1514, A. Elmore, Ecole Anglaise, Signe Voir cliché. Superb(?) oeuvre”. Exhibited: Royal Academy, London, 1847, No. 317. Provenance: John Clowes Grundy purchased it at the R.A. Exhibition. Richard Nicholson, Treasurer of the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway Company. Literature: ‘Alfred Elmore’, The Art Journal, 1857, p.114; W. Sanby, History of the Royal Academy of Arts, 1862, vol. 2, p.303; R. N. James, Painters and their Works, 1896, vol. 1, p.347.

2015 marks the Bi-Centenary of the birth of Alfred Elmore in Clonakilty, Co. Cork, on 18th June 1815, the day that the battle of Waterloo was being fought in Europe. His family were involved in the linen business, but moved to London when Elmore was a boy. He studied at the Royal Academy, was a member of the Clique, and exhibited at the RA from a young age. His family were friends with Statesman Daniel O’Connell, who commissioned a work. After further studies in Europe, he settled in London, becoming a successful painter of historical and literary subjects. Elmore was a highly eclectic painter, open to a variety of influences, but with a distinctive use of colour, Page 2 – Gorry Gallery – December 2015

and a sensuousness in painting textiles. Although much less well-known today than other leading Irish artists in Britain, such as William Mulready and Daniel Maclise, Elmore was one of the leading painters of the Victorian period, his work praised by critics, and sought after by collectors.(1) The artist’s father, also named Alfred Elmore, was an English-born doctor who, with his brother Richard, had served as a surgeon in the Fifth Dragoon Guards in the Peninsular War in Spain. Perhaps attracted by the thriving linen industry in West Cork the brothers settled An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

in Clonakilty. Richard set up a linen factory, Alfred assisting him, continuing his practice as a doctor, and he is also said to have introduced the field harrow into West Cork.(2) The Elmore brothers fell in love with and married the Callanan sisters, Jean and Marianne, daughters of Dr. William Callanan. He had been a respected Clonakilty doctor, businessman, and leading figure among the United Irishmen in West Cork. He may have had some involvement in the Uprisings of 1798 there, and in 1803, after the Rebellion of Robert Emmet in Dublin, he was arrested by local Orangemen at his home in Clonakilty. He was jailed briefly then released. He died in 1808. Young Alfred was born at Scartagh Cottage, on the edge of Clonakilty, on 18 June 1815. As a child he was impressed by a painting of The Dead Christ, attributed to Van Dyck, in his father’s collection, Meanwhile, the West Cork linen industry was being undermined by new industrial methods, and the Elmores’ business declined. Furthermore, Richard’s wife died, and the family moved to London in 1827, Alfred aged twelve. Richard Elmore became the doctor of Daniel O’Connell and his family. Alfred Elmore copied sculptures in the British Museum then, recommended by Sir Anthony Carlisle, he became a student at the RA in 1832. He commenced exhibiting here in 1834, and at the British Institution in 1835. He became a member of the Clique, a group of young artists who reacted against the conservatism of their teachers, and held drawing classes. Among his comrades were Richard Dadd, William P. Frith and Henry N. O’Neil, some of whom became leadings artists in the Victorian period. Daniel O’Connell commissioned Elmore to paint a large historical picture, The Martyrdom of Thomas á Becket, later presenting it to St. Andrew’s Church, Westland Row, Dublin. Elmore continued his studies in Paris, where he copied Old Master paintings in the Louvre, in Germany and in Rome. On the Continent he painted Romantic watercolours of Medieval-type lovers and landscapes. Settling in London, he pursued a busy career painting scenes from Italian, French and British history, and literary subjects, particularly from Shakespeare. He exhibited his pictures at the RA annually, was elected an Associate in 1845, and a full RA in 1857, also working as a teacher there. He also showed his work at the Royal Hibernian Academy on three occasions, being elected an Honourary Member in 1876. His paintings were selected for the Exposition Universelle (World Fair), Paris in 1855, 1867 and 1878. An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

Elmore married, but sadly, his wife Jane died in 1854, not long after the birth of their daughter Edith in 1853. However, Edith was a companion to Elmore in his older age, and herself became a talented flower painter. In the 1860’s Elmore visited Algeria, and possibly the Holy Land, the light, scenes of daily life, and colour, providing the inspiration for Orientalist and Biblical canvases. His later paintings included many portraits and studies of women. He mixed in talented artistic circles, being a friend of painters such as O’Neil and Frederick Leighton, being photographed by David Wynfield and others, attending readings by Dickens, and dining with Frith and his family. He was a keen horseman but, having a fall, he suffered ill-health in his latter years. He died on 24 January 1881, and was buried in the family grave at Kensal Green Cemetery, in north London. Elmore often chose literary sources for his paintings, but Beppo (a lengthy poem of ninety nine verses), written by Lord Byron in Venice only in 1817, must have seemed fresh and contemporary to him. The poem concerned ‘Laura’, a beautiful woman, “She was not old nor young”(3) whose husband Giuseppe (‘Beppo’) was a merchant trader. He had been gone for several years, presumed in debt, or lost at sea. Laura grieved, then took up with a Count, a man of talent and wealth. At their visit to the Venice Carnival, Laura observed a man of dark, Turkish appearance staring at her. Leaving the Carnival, “The Count and Laura found their boat at last, And homeward floated o’er the silent tide. . . Sat Laura by the side of her Adorer, When lo! The Mussulman was there before her”.(4) This is the moment that Elmore chose to portray. Inevitably, the stranger was Beppo. On his journey years before he had been taken as a slave. Joining a group of pirates, he had grown wealthy. Following his desire to return home, he finally reached Venice. The poem ends happily. Yet the tone of the poem is more entertaining than Romantic. Byron was attracted by the beauty of the women in Venice, and the apparently free life and easy morals there. The poem is also full of digressions, satirising English life and culture. As Fiona MacCarthy states, Beppo “was written in a new style, colloquial and racy, with an inner core of sadness. . .(5) A further ambiguity is given to the poem by the fact that, when living in Venice, Byron was conducting a liaison with Marianna, the young wife of his kindly landlord there. December 2015

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Several of Elmore’s pictures of the 1840’s are complex compositions containing many figures. However, some of his most striking paintings are those such as Beppo, where the focus is on few figures in the foreground, and the setting is in the open air. The lovers are shown close together, having just stepped off a gondola. Laura is holding the Count’s arm, while he clasps the handle of his sword. Both are looking fearfully at the turbaned, bearded figure of Beppo, who is seated on a stone step on the left, glaring at them. Gestures and facial expressions are heightened, and the figures lit by dramatic light from the left, as if the scene is taking place on the stage. The characters have large, staring eyes and extended fingers, and wear exotic, richly coloured costumes. They are much younger than those characterised in Byron’s poem. Faces, hands and gar-ments are superbly painted, Laura has a broad childlike face with golden hair, large eyes, and rosebud mouth. Her fingers, characteristic of Elmore, are sensitively painted and the folds of her long white dress are skilfully conveyed. The Count has a handsome, moustachioed face and staring eyes, and is clad in beret, maroon velvet jacket, and has a scarlet sash around his waist. The seated Beppo, with turbaned, bearded face, golden cloak, red pantaloons and slippers, is impressive. His pose is indolent, yet somehow menacing, with eyes staring from beneath his brows and fingers clasping his cummerbund. His decorative white and red turban which catches the light, and costume, give him an exotic, Turkish or Arabic look, but Elmore conveys that the character of Beppo was European. Elmore’s paintings were inspired, variously, by literary and historical sources, his own life-drawing studies, the theatre, his admiration for the Old Masters and contemporary, Nineteenth-Century painters, and perhaps by memories of the linen factory of his childhood, with its textiles and colours. He was open and eclectic in his artistic taste, and Beppo and other paintings contain references to Daniel MacLise, Michelangelo, Bonington, and other artists. The handsome appearance and intense look of the Count, for instance, recalls the Romantic character in Maclise’s The Farewell, 1843(6) while Beppo is reminiscent of the seated King Cophetua, also by Maclise,(7) or the fine study A Turk, by Bonington (National Gallery of Ireland). Page 4 – Gorry Gallery – December 2015

Most striking perhaps, the fair face of Laura, whose eyes look to the left, echoes that of Delphica, whose eyes look to the right in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling. Beppo can be seen as a companion to Elmore’s Griselde, 1850, whose central character shows a similar blonde girl, perhaps the same model, with eyes looking to the side, costumed figures, and sunlight falling upon weathered stone. In Beppo Venice is revealed as dawn comes into the sky. The setting may be an amalgam of buildings remembered by the artist: an old stone wall, a glimpse of canal, a red brick wall and fountain, and pale stone palazzos. The pointed turrets on top of the brick wall may provide shields from which archers can shoot arrows against their enemies.(8) The background space is somewhat condensed, but several figures are present: the gondolier, viewed from behind, women across the canal by the well, and two girls chatting on steps. Beppo is one of Elmore’s masterly paintings from the early part of his career. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1847, (It may not have been shown in public since then(9)). Remaining in private collections for many years, it is timely that is should now be exhibited in Ireland in the artist’s Bi-Centenary year. Julian Campbell Acknowledgements: I am very grateful to Peter Murray and Caoimhín de Bhailís for assistance in my research. Notes: 1. For recent publications on Elmore, see: N. Figgis, ed, Painting 16001900, Art and Architecture of Ireland, vol. 2, RIA/Yale 2014; C. De Bhailís. ‘Alfred Elmore. Behind the Scenes’, in Irish Art Review, Autumn 2014, p.120-125; P. Murray, ed. Three Centuries of Irish Art, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, 2014. 2. J. Gilbert, ‘Record of Authors, Artists and Musical Composers born in the County Cork’, ub JHAAS, vol. xix, 1913. 3. Byron, Poetical Works. Beppo, verse 22. Composed quickly in 1817, Beppo was published in Feb. 1818. Letters of Lord Byron, ed. R.G. Howarth, 1962, p.176. Beppo was originally published anonymously (see F. MacCarthy, note 5 below). 4. Beppo. Verse 88. 5. Fiona MacCarthy, Byron. Life and Legend, 2002, 2014, p.333. 6. See P. Murray, ed, Daniel Maclise, 1806-1870. Romancing the Past, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, 2008, ill. p.135. See also A Scene from Undine, ill. P.127. 7. King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid, (painted later than Beppo), see Daniel Maclise, 2008, ill. P.140-41. See also the clothes dealer in Gil Blas, ill. p.122.23. 8. Information suggested by Peter Murray. 9. The inscription in French, and number, on a label on reverse suggest that the picture might have been exhibited in France at a later date.

An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

2. John Putnam 18th Century Irish School

‘Still Life of Flowers in a Basket’ Oil on canvas 72 x 91 in eighteenth-century Chippendale-style carved wood gilt frame Signed ‘Jon Putnam’ and dated and inscribed ‘Dublin 1788’.

Signed, dated and inscribed Dublin 1788, this is an accomplished still-life by this otherwise unrecorded artist. It is close to earlier flowerpieces by William Ashford, including an example in the National Gallery of Ireland. The form of the basket is identical to the ‘basket of flowers’ motif which is such a hallmark of Irish furniture, particularly side tables and mirrors.

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4. William Sadler, II c.1782-1839 3. William Sadler, II c.1782-1839 ‘The Village Dance’ Oil on wood 38.5 x 43.5

‘The Country Dance’ Oil on board 28 x 40.8

In its original Dublin frame of the pattern favoured by Sadler.

These two closely related works by Sadler depict scenes of boisterous – riotous even – group entertainment in which scores of figures are depicted from all walks of life. In No. 3 a well dressed, rather corpulent, man of some social standing takes centre stage as he leads a mother and child and a young boy and girl across the clearing in a stage-like setting of farm and other vernacular buildings while all around the company dances, drinks and converses. Dogs, a coach, furniture and utensils are all portrayed with precision, but also a certain stylish verve. In No. 4 following the old Irish custom, wooden planks have been arranged as a stage for dancing. This detail is repeated in a further related work by Sadler The Village Dance (Sotheby’s The Irish Sale, 2 June 1995, lot 230) and is the subject of Daniel McDonald’s The Country Dance (Crawford Art Gallery, Cork). To the left is a scene of feasting and music and to the right furniture has been pulled outside from the inn to accommodate the spectators. Clearly Sadler is aware of David Wilkie’s reinvigoration of the Dutch ‘kermesse’ (or festival) tradition of artists such as Teniers, notably works such as The Penny Wedding exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1819. However, Sadler has himself adapted the tradition yet further giving it a specific Irish inflection and anticipating the work of artists such as Samuel Watson. Sadler has painted a panoramic view of Killiney Bay and Bray Head, seen from high ground to the west and with the town of Bray centred in the middle distance. The foreground has a track leading down past a small thatched cabin, apparently a one-roomed dwelling typical of the period, which catches the eye. Bray is shown with the roofs of houses along Main Street. The spire is that of St. Paul’s church, later removed and somewhat more prominent here than in reality. The broad winding estuary of the Dargle River is shown to the left of the town, with the river spanned by Bray Bridge. The

image of Bray is recognisable, but the wider view owes much to Sadler’s imagination. Bray Head, extending out to sea at the right, is considerably exaggerated. There is a glimpse of Killiney strand at the far left, with a martello tower. Beyond the trees the twin peaks of Killiney Hill are steeply conical, and Dalkey Island juts out in the bay. Across the water is Howth, apparently lying to the east. In reality it lies almost due north of Bray and would not be visible from the artist’s viewpoint. The result is, however, a charming juxtaposition of well-known elements of the coastal landscape, brought together to form a pleasing composition.

5. William Sadler, II c.1782-1839 ‘Killiney Bay and Bray Head’ Oil on wood 23 x 33.4

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6. James Arthur O’Connor c.1792-1841

‘Mountainous landscape with Figures and a Distant lake’ (probably County Wicklow) Oil on canvas 51 x 61 Signed. Provenance: Private collection by descent

These two fine pencil and sepia drawings (below) date from earlier in O’Connor’s career. As Crookshank and Glin note drawings by O’Connor are rare and these are freer than his more typically neat and precise works in pen and ink. The drawings date from two years after O’Connor’s famous trip to London with Danby and Petrie. Hutchinson notes that there is little information surviving from, or works datable to, the period 1814 to 1818 when O’Connor was establishing himself back in Ireland. ‘The only known works that can be definitely ascribed to this period are two ink sketches in the Royal Academy, both dated 1813 that were drawn during the artist’s brief stay in London’. Although not major works in their own right it is pleasing then to be able to fill out the record of O’Connor’s life with these two charming examples of his graphic art from a little known period.

7. James Arthur O’Connor c.1792-1841 ‘River Landscape with Bridge’ Pencil and sepia wash on paper 21 x 31 Signed and dated 1815.

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8. James Arthur O’Connor c.1792-1841 ‘Coastal Landscape with Figures’ Pencil and sepia wash on paper 21 x 31 December 2015

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9. Robert Hunter c.1715/20-1801

‘Portrait of Dr. John Rose and his Grandson Joseph Rose in a landscape’ Oil on canvas 189 x 152.5 in its original carved and gilded frame Provenance: By descent from the sitters to Gertrude Maria Rose of Bath.

Robert Hunter was the leading portrait painter in Dublin in the second half of the eighteenth century, portraying, among others, the Lord Lieutenants, Harcourt and Buckinghamshire, several Lord Mayors of Dublin, as well as a wide selection of the Irish aristocracy and – as here – professional classes. He also exhibited subject paintings at the Society of Artists in William Street. Hunter was noted for his ability to capture a likeness and was acclaimed in a poem published in Dublin in March 1763 for equaling William Hogarth and Joshua Reynolds in bringing an individual to life on canvas: “the parts compose one energetic whole, which seems to think, and breathe a living soul’. Previously unrecorded in the literature this is one of the most impressive works by Hunter to have survived. Of unusually large scale and housed in its original frame, it is a tender image of affection between grandfather and his grandson; as Anne Crookshank has noted, Hunter is particularly good with children. Like several of his portraits, it is set in a landscape with the charming detail of a garden building, or gazebo, in the distance to the right. The African red parrot on the table to the right is precisely echoed by the dead game in the National Gallery of Ireland’s portrait of Peter La Touche. Further comparisons can be cited with Hunter’s portrait of Robert Walker and his son (also in the National Gallery) notably ‘its choice of genre subject matter’ which is unusual for a full length portrait of the period (Brendan Rooney and Nicola Figgis, Irish Paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland, Volume 1 (Dublin 2001), p. 246). Of particular quality here is the way that Hunter has captured the sheen of the young boy’s waistcoat. While it is a formal portrait – as the Van Dyckian column and hint of red drapery attest – it is also one of warm intimacy. Dr. John Rose, the seated subject was the youngest son of Hugh Rose, 14th Laird of Kilravock (pronounced Kil-rawk), by his second wife, The Hon. Mary Forbes. His date of birth is uncertain but was before 1687 when Hugh Rose died. The Scottish Rose family is well documented, and as a younger son, John Rose chose to go further afield. He settled in Limerick where he practiced as a physician and had just one son, also named John. In turn, his son, Joseph Rose (1749-1833), the child in this portrait, followed in his grandfather’s profession. He was later physician to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and is reputed to have declined a knighthood. Based on the sitters’ birthdates and their ages as shown in the portrait, a date of the late 1750s seems appropriate and it is in line with other works of about this date by Hunter. Joseph Rose was a nephew of Alexander Rose of Elm Park, Co. Limerick. At about this time, Elm Park became the family home of General Eyre Massey, later Lord Clarina, who had a prominent military career with the 27th Foot and was famed for putting down a revolt on Spike Island, Cork, in 1795, when he was in his late seventies. He later served as Member of Parliament for Swords, County Dublin, in the Irish House of Commons and was also painted by Robert Hunter. Dr. Joseph Rose married his distant cousin Gertrude, the daughter of Hickman Rose, in 1774. The Freeman’s Journal reported that Joseph Rose was a surgeon from Killaloe, and that Gertrude was “a young lady with a large fortune whose merit and good sense must render the marriage state truly happy.” Though both subjects of this painting were doctors, and possibly surgeons, their names are not listed in the records of the Royal College of Physicians or Surgeons. However, membership was only necessary for those who practiced in Dublin, and many country doctors did not take the trouble to join up. The family is also connected to the prolific Rose family of Ballyanrahan, Co. Limerick. Joseph Rose had one son, Capt. Leland Hickman Rose. The family retired to Bath. Joseph Rose and his wife Gertrude are buried at Bath Abbey. Descendants of that family still live in the area today.

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10. Nathaniel Hone R.A. (the Elder) 1718-1784

11. Eley George Mountstephen (or Mountsteven) active 1781-91

‘Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait as a Young Man’ Oval Enamel on copper 5 x 4 Signed: NH [in monogram] painted c.1755.

‘Louis Joseph de Bourbon, The Prince de Conde (1736-1818)’ White wax profile portrait, In an oval ebony frame 7.5 x 7 Inscribed and dated on the backing paper: Prince de Conde / by / G. Mountstephen / 1785.

The Dublin-born artist Nathaniel Hone occupies an important place in the history of Irish and English miniature painting. After Christian Friedrich Zincke’s decline, from 1746 onwards, Hone succeeded him as the foremost enamel portraitist. His contribution to the technical development of miniature painting on enamel and in watercolour on ivory and his virtuosity as a miniaturist has not been given adequate attention in accounts of his life. Hone is known as an oil painter and founder member of the Royal Academy but he spent the early part of his career, from c.1740, as an enamellist and miniaturist working in watercolour on ivory.

Born in Co. Meath, Mountstephen made his reputation as a sculptor or modeller of portraits in wax which was a medium popularized in Dublin by Patrick Cunningham (d.1774) who probably taught him. Mountstephen worked for James Tassie and Josiah Wedgwood. He left Dublin in 1787 and settled in London where he continued to exhibit work at the Royal Academy from 1782-1791. In 1791 Mountstephen left England for the continent where he died soon afterwards.

Set in the lid of a tortoiseshell powder box with gold mounts.

Hone was inspired by Dutch portraiture and was a noted collector and dealer in Old Master prints and drawings. He must have been familiar with Rembrandt’s (160669) celebrated self-portrait painted in 1634 (oil on panel) which was in a private collection when this enamel was executed. The Rembrandt self-portrait is now in the Uffizi, Florence. Hone reproduces the details of dress with accuracy despite the difficulties of working on a tiny scale in enamel. He manages to capture the light shining on the armour and something of the shading on the sitter’s face.

The Prince de Conde was born at Chantilly which he later inherited as he was a member of the cadet branch of the ruling House of Bourbon. He married Charlotte de Rohan in 1753 at Versailles. At Chantilly, the prince had a number of improvements and embellishments carried out in the years before the revolution. The prince had the Chateau d’Enghien built on the grounds of the estate to house guests when he entertained. He also commissioned a large garden in the fashionable English style as well as an ornamental hamlet. Having survived the horrors of the revolution he went into exile in Germany and later Austria. With the defeat of Napoleon, the Prince de Conde resumed his courtly duties as grand master in the royal household of Louis XVIII.

12. Frederick Buck 1765-1840

‘Portrait of a Gentleman’ Oval 7 x 5 Watercolour on ivory set in a locket frame with locks of the sitter’s hair on the reverse Painted c.1795. Frederick Buck was born into a family of Cork silversmiths. He was the son of Jonathan Buck and a younger brother of the miniaturist Adam Buck. On 5 December 1782 he was admitted to the Dublin Society’s drawing schools where he attended the figure drawing school and the ornament drawing school. Buck was particularly successful during the Napoleonic wars, when Cork was a significant military and naval centre. As it was a port of embarkation, Buck supplied the demand for keepsake miniatures of the young officers before they set off for war. Buck spent his entire working life in Cork where he established himself as the leading miniaturist in the city. He had a very large patronage and this portrait is typical of work. The hairstyle and cut of the sitter’s coat suggest a date in the mid-1790s. Dr. Paul Caffrey Page 10 – Gorry Gallery – December 2015

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13. Horace Hone A.R.A. 1754-1825

‘Lord Edward FitzGerald (1763-1798)’ Oval Enamel on copper 12 x 9 Signed and dated: HH [in monogram] 1806. Inscribed on the counter-enamel: Lord Edward Fitzgerald/ died in Dublin 1798/ H Hone ARA Pinxt/ London 1806. Illustrated actual size.

Horace Hone was the second son of Nathaniel Hone RA. Horace was taught miniature painting in watercolour on ivory and on enamel by his father whose portrait of Horace sketching is in the NGI (1297). In 1770, Horace Hone attended the Royal Academy Schools in London, he exhibited at the RA from 1772-1822 and was appointed ARA in 1779. Horace Hone settled in Dublin in 1782 and worked almost exclusively in Ireland until 1804. Hone was so successful that while he was living in Dublin he was appointed Miniature Painter to the Prince of Wales in 1795. He spent 1804 in Bath. For some time afterwards he lived in London, in the house of his patron, Richard, 7th Viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion (founder of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), where he reestablished himself as a miniaturist. Hone suffered from mental illness and his decline is recorded in The Diary of Joseph Farington. He died in London and is buried in the grounds of St. George’s Chapel, Bayswater Road. After Lord Edward’s death in 1798 his cult spread rapidly and there was a great public demand for portraits of him. Hone’s enamel is based on a watercolour on ivory miniature portrait which he painted from life in 1795 (exhibited at The Gorry Gallery in 1991 and now in a private collection). He would have kept a watercolour version of this image from which to paint miniatures such as the version in the National Portrait Gallery, London (5704). Hone probably worked from the watercolour on card version of his portrait of Lord Edward, painted in 1797, which is in the NGI (2156). Lord Edward is posed against a cloudy blue sky background. He is fresh-faced and has his usual fashionably cropped hair. The principal difference with the earlier portraits is that he wears a red cloak with a dark sash instead of his usual green coat and coloured neck-cloth. The red cloak may be a reference to French republicanism and the toga-like red cloaks adopted by the Councils of the Directoire. Lord Edward holds the hilt of a sword in his right hand which is a direct reference to his role as a leader of the United Irishmen. Although Horace Hone did enamels throughout his career he produced more enamels based on watercolour portraits and copies of oil portraits during the period 1804-1810. Dr. Paul Caffrey An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

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14. Adam Buck 1759-1833

‘Portrait of a Young Gentleman’ Watercolour and pencil on card, 14 x 12.8 Signed and dated 1824. Adam Buck was born in Cork, the elder son of Jonathan Buck, a silversmith of Castle Street. Unlike his brother Frederick, he did not attend the Dublin Society’s drawing schools, and his artistic training is unknown. He worked as a miniaturist and painter of small whole-length portraits in Dublin where he evolved his own decorative neo-classical style. In 1795 Buck moved to London. Buck was seriously interested in antique Greek and Roman vase painting and he published a prospectus for a book on the subject in 1811. It was intended to be a continuation of Sir William Hamilton’s Collection of Engravings from Ancient Vases (1791-97). Only one instalment of ten etched outlines was issued in 1812. An exhibition of Buck’s work will open at the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, in February 2016.

15. Adam Buck 1759-1833

‘Me Play You Sing’ A Portrait of Master George Henry Law Watercolour and pencil with white gouache highlights on card, 22 x 14.5 Signed: A. Buck and dated: 1826.

Inscribed on the reverse: George Henry Law/ Chester June 10th 1826/ born October 9th 1821 Adam Buck developed the larger cabinet miniature and specialised in painting small full-length watercolour on card portraits. He was adept at painting portraits of children often giving the subject’s sentimental themes. These hitherto undocumented portraits are characteristic of Buck’s mature style of portraiture. The Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford has just published A Regency Buck: Adam Buck (1759-1833) an appreciation by Peter Darvall. Dr. Paul Caffrey

16. Fine Topographical Coalport Dessert Plate Diameter 24

Decorated with gilding and a hand painted view of Clondalkin c.186075 with painted title and makers mark verso and a black and white engraving by Brandard after a picture by George Petrie R.H.A. Image size 15 x 9.5 (2).

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17. Thomas Cooley A.R.H.A. 1795-1872 ‘Reading the news’ Pencil and watercolour on paper 23.8 x 28 Signed and dated 1847.

18. Thomas Cooley A.R.H.A. 1795-1872 ‘Feeding time’ Pencil and watercolour on paper 24 x 26.7 Signed and dated 1849.

19. John Henry Campbell 1757-1828

‘Landscape with figures and farm buildings’ Watercolour on paper 46 x 62

Provenance: Gorry Gallery Exhibition 1998, Catalogue Number 14. An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

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20. Cecilia Margaret Nairn (neé) Campbell 1791-1857 ‘Ruins of Templeland Castle Co. Galway’ Watercolour on paper 19.8 x 24.8 Inscribed with title.

Cecilia Margaret Campbell was a daughter of John Henry Campbell the landscape painter 1757-1828 and wife of George Nairn A.R.H.A. the animal painter 1799-1850.

21. Cecilia Margaret Nairn (neé) Campbell 1791-1857 ‘Distant view Powerscourt Waterfall from the park’ Watercolour on paper 19.8 x 24.8 Signed: Cecilia Campbell and inscribed.

Watercolour view of the waterfall in the grounds of Powerscourt, County Wicklow, a famous tourist attraction since the eighteenth century and a subject beloved by countless artists it continues to attract thousands of visitors every year. Page 14 – Gorry Gallery – December 2015

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22. Francis Wheatley R.A. 1747-1801 ‘The Deserted Village’ Oil on canvas 31 x 35.5

This vigorous oil sketch is preparatory – with multiple key differences – to Francesco Bartolozzi’s 1795 engraving of the Deserted Village, which illustrates Oliver Goldsmith’s 1770 poem attacking the practice of the enclosure of common land which may have been influenced by his childhood in Ireland. The engraving was accompanied by emotive lines on exile as the inhabitants are driven from their lands, a theme which has long resonated with the dispossessed: Good Heaven! what sorrows gloom’d that parting day, That call’d them from their native walks away; When the poor exiles every pleasure past, Hung about their bowers, and fondly looked their last, The good old sire the first prepar’d to go To new-found worlds and wept for others woe: But for himself, in conscious virtue brave He only wished for worlds beyond the grave. Wheatley’s image was reproduced in the edition of Goldsmith’s poem published in 1800 by F. J. du Roveray. An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

December 2015

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23. Edwin Hayes R.H.A., R.I. 1820-1904 ‘Shipping on a breezy day’ Oil on canvas 134 x 103.5 Signed and dated 1888.

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24. John Faulkner R.H.A. c.1830-1880

‘My Valley of Glenmalure from the foot of Lugnaquillia’ Oil on canvas 102 x 153 Signed and dated 1868.

Provenance: Mrs. H.H. Howard, Mississippi, U.S.A. Sold with a letter dated April 1965, from James White, Director of National Gallery of Ireland to Mrs. Howard the owner. This expansive view near the deep valley of Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow, shows a rocky foreground with buildings and figures contrasting with the delicately painted high peaks in the distance. Titled ‘My valley of Glenmalure from the foot of Lugnaquillia/John Faulkner/1868/Wicklow, Ireland’, it is taken from a viewpoint close to the entrance to the long narrow glen, but not looking directly upstream. Rather the view is diagonally across Glenmalure, towards Lugnaquillia mountain in the distance at far left. Lugnaquillia is the highest peak in the Wicklow Mountains and the whole province of Leinster, rising to 925 metres (3,035 feet).

them thatched, with chimney smoke rising into the still air and adding to the tranquility of the scene. Mary Davies

Although lightly shown, it dominates the painting. In the right foreground a small single-arch bridge crosses the Avonbeg river with a group of children fishing nearby. Behind the bridge is a cluster of houses, some of

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December 2015

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25 & 26. Thomas Hickey 1741-1824

‘Pair of Portraits of a Husband and Wife’ Oil on unlined canvas with original eighteenth-century strainers 27 x 22

In almost untouched condition, this pair of portraits emerged from a private collection in Lisbon where it is likely that they were painted during Hickey’s sojourn in the city from the Summer of 1780 until September 1783.

Hickey ended up in the Portuguese capital after the ship on which he was travelling to India was captured by the French and Spanish fleets but found so much business there that he stayed for three years.

27. John E. Bosanquet Fl. 1844-1872

‘Portrait of a Young Girl’ Watercolour and bodycolour on paper in a nineteenth-century rosewood frame 25 x 19.5 octagonal Signed and dated 1849. Bosanquet practiced in Cork city for a quarter of a century painting scenes of Munster topography, charming portraits such as this and also miniatures on ivory (at a guinea a time) from his studio at 62 Patrick Street. Bosanquet was included in the National Arts Exhibition in Cork in 1852 and he also showed at the Royal Hibernian Academy. His work was favourably reviewed in The Cork Examiner.

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28. William Bourke Kirwan 1814 – date of death unknown

‘A Rake Betrayed’ Watercolour on paper 53.6 x 72.5 Signed and dated 1847 in its original frame supplied by Daniel Egan of Dublin.

The life of William Bourke Kirwan – murderer or, rather more likely, wholly innocent victim of a grave injustice – has been recounted several times. Much less familiar, because of its great rarity, is his artistic production of which this highly finished watercolour, signed and dated to 1847 is the outstanding example so far identified. Kirwan was born in Dublin in, or about, 1814. Kirwan exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy between 1835 and 1846 showing a wide a variety of portraits and subject pictures in both oil and watercolour. Notable among these was an Irish pastime – Reilly’s Kitchen, Killeries (which was accompanied by lines from Goldsmith’s The Deserved Village) and an unusually topical response to the Great Famine, Reading the Debate on the Corn Question exhibited in 1846. By this date Kirwan was living at No. 6 Lower Merrion Street (subsequently moving to 11 Upper Merrion Street) with his wife Sarah Maria Louisa, Kirwan, however, also had a second family living not far away in Sandymount with his mistress, Maria Theresa Kenny, by whom he had eight children. During the summer and autumn of 1852 the Kirwans rented a holiday house at Howth and on the 6th September Kirwan’s wife, a keen sea swimmer, was found dead on Ireland’s Eye when they were picnicking on the island. Kirwan was charged with her murder, convicted and sentenced to death. The trial was held at Green Street Court House in Dublin in December 1852, with Isaac Butt, the nationalist MP, leading the defence. The evidence against Kirwan was almost entirely circumstantial, and specifically related to his conjugal arrangements. Conflicting evidence was heard as to this, but on balance it seems that Kirwan’s wife and mistress were quite happily aware of each other’s existence – it would be difficult for An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

them not to be, as they lived just a mile apart – thus largely eliminating fear of exposure as a possible motive, while his mother-in-law’s evidence (‘there could not be a quieter husband than Kirwan had been to her daughter’) was clearly also helpful. According to reports in the press, the carpet bag which the Kirwans carried as they set off on the fatal trip to Ireland’s Eye included ‘Mrs. Kirwan’s bathing dress, a basket of provisions, with two bottles of water and a sketch-book’ and Kirwan claimed to have been sketching the view towards Dublin at the time his wife went missing. His sketches were produced in evidence to try to determine the time of day at which drawings were made, and hence give Kirwan an alibi for the early evening hours when, he argued, his wife drowned. While clearly this alone was not decisive, cumulatively doubt was cast on the conviction and in time the sentence was commuted to transportation and Kirwan ultimately made a new life for himself in America. Surviving in the National Library of Ireland is a series of sketches by Kirwan seemingly showing both his wife and Maria Theresa Kenny. Apart from these studio scraps (collected by Dr. Jaspar Robert Joly as souvenirs of a ‘murder’) hardly any other works by Kirwan have been identified, and the circumstances of the forced sale of his studio by the Crown in September 1853 no doubt in part accounts for this. This has had the unfortunate effect of undermining his artistic reputation. It is all the more pleasing then to publish this signed and dated – and highly accomplished – watercolour by the artist which rather appropriately is a reprise of the Hogarth’s famous engraving, Plate 3 of The Rake’s Progress. Kirwan echoes the scene of the rake ‘riotous living’ among women of ill repute. December 2015

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29, 30, 31. Aloysius O’Kelly 1853-1936 These paintings are set in Concarneau, just outside the Ville Close, the medieval fortified island connected to the modern town of Concarneau by drawbridge. Surrounded by water at high tide, the enclosed town consists of one long street of houses, built into the monumental ramparts, where lived the poor. The clock tower and sundial, featured in the background of the bustling scene, The Harbour, (below) was erected in 1905.

29. Aloysius O’Kelly 1853-1936 ‘The Harbour, Concarneau’ Oil on wood 25.4 x 33

Although unsigned, these paintings are quintessentially the work of Aloysius O’Kelly (1853-1936), and date to the early twentieth century. The subject matter is typical of his Concarneau series, the sizes are consistent, and the style and treatment distinctively the work of this Irish artist. There is a marked stylistic cohesion about his early twentieth century paintings, and these are characteristic of this phase of his career. Indeed some of the figures and vignettes are actually recognisable from other O’Kelly paintings. From the mid 1870s, during the long summer breaks from the École des beaux-arts in Paris, artists of all nationalities made their way to Pont-Aven in Brittany in keeping with the cult of peasant realism that swept through the salons of the day. With the exception of O’Kelly, the rival aesthetic of modernity engaged few Irish artists in France, where they tended to identify with the more conservative modes of representing the rural experience. In Brittany, O’Kelly learned to reconcile a range of styles derived from both traditional and avant-garde art, in effect blending academic, realist and plein-air elements into an innovative mode of naturalism. The range of his skills is evident in his application of iridescent Impressionist-type techniques for his outdoor subjects, while retaining more traditional academic techniques for his indoor scenes. O’Kelly executed many painterly harbour scenes, such Page 22 – Gorry Gallery – December 2015

as Fishing Boats in the Harbour (right). Although they are carefully composed, as we see here, he also achieves the effect of spontaneity, especially in the handling of the blue and rose sails, and their reflections in the translucent water. From the mid 1880s, the over-crowding in Pont-Aven compelled the more experimental artists to seek new locations, notably Concarneau, the most important fishing village of Cornouaille. O’Kelly was constantly on the move around the region, settling first in Pont-Aven, and later Concarneau. Throughout the early years of the twentieth century, O’Kelly was also over and back from New York (where he now lived) to Brittany. From 1909 to 1912, he spent two years there continuously, and during this time produced most of the paintings in this series. From the inscriptions verso, we know that these paintings returned with him to the US. This series was exhibited in New York and received rave reviews, 24 were selected to go on tour to Milwaukee and Chicago in 1912. Contemporary descriptions of the fishiness and fetidness of Concarneau, and, worse, its woeful sanitation system (contributing to the massive smallpox epidemic in 1881 that wiped out half the population within a month) tell us that this was a working harbour, not a merely picturesque setting, reminding us of its actuality as a site of modern industry. For such a small painting, The Fountain, Concarneau (below) conveys a sense of a busy town. The fountain

30. Aloysius O’Kelly 1853-1936 ‘The Fountain, Concarneau’ Oil on wood 33 x 25.4

An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

was erected on the Place d’Armes in 1855 to provide drinking water to the inhabitants (and was relocated behind the walled town in the post-war period). Joseph Bigot designed the 8-feet high octagonal granite base, the cast-iron drinking fountain was the work of the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugène Guillaume. An acroter with chamfered corners supports statuary of a turtle, otter, and crocodile with a fish held between its teeth, on which is surmounted a lamp. Spontaneous and vivacious, these paintings are amongst the best in his Concarneau series, and show him at his most confident and expressive. At this stage of his career, O’Kelly adopted a very simple signature, paradoxically these unsigned paintings appear to be more authentic than some of the signed ones. Professor Emeritus Niamh O’Sullivan

31. Aloysius O’Kelly 1853-1936 ‘Fishing Boats in the Harbour’ Oil on wood 24 x 33

32. Dermod O’Brien P.R.H.A. 1865-1945 ‘La Voûte sur Loire’ Oil on canvas 25.4 x 35.5 Signed and dated ’26.

Exhibited: Mills Hall, Merrion Row, Dublin “Exhibition of Paintings and Sketches By Dermod O’Brien P.R.H.A.,” 1926, No. 45.

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33. Richard Peterson Atkinson c.1840-1882

‘Naval Frigate off Cork Harbour’ Watercolour heightened with white on paper 34 x 51.5 Signed and dated “Richard Atkinson Nov 6th 1863”.

This watercolour, by the son of well-known marine painter George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson, depicts a naval frigate, hove-to just outside the entrance to Cork Harbour. The three-masted vessel flies the Red Ensign, and also the “Blue Peter” – a signal flag with a white square inside a blue square – indicating it is about to embark on a voyage. The ship pitches and rolls in heavy seas, foresails pressing against the mast. To the right, in the distance, a squadron of five warships, sailing line astern, is heading for the open sea. The frigate faces into the wind, its progress temporarily halted, so as to allow the warships to pass. This type of frigate, with twenty guns on the main gun deck, was rated as “sixth class” and appears to be a ‘Porcupine Class’, very similar to HMS Surprise (formerly the French ship l’Unité) that features in the maritime novels of Patrick O’Brien. The identity of the ship depicted here is not known, but this is likely an ‘historical’ painting, depicting a scene from the early nineteenth century. The painting details more than just shipping at the entrance to the harbour. On the left is Fort Camden, a military defensive position guarding the approaches to Cork harbour, while on the right is Roche’s Point, with its distinctive lighthouse. Behind Roche’s Point is Fort Carlisle, another heavily-defended promontory. Like his father, Richard Peterson took pains to depict sea and cloud conditions as they appear in nature, rather than as they are taught in art academies. Using white gouache, he has picked out Cirrus clouds high above the tips of the masts, while in the background, lower-lying cumulus clouds portend showers of rain. Page 24 – Gorry Gallery – December 2015

Born in Cove, Co. Cork, Richard Peterson Atkinson was the second son of George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson. A self-taught artist, G.M.W.Atkinson first began painting around 1841, and exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy from 1842. He lived at 3 Mervue Terrace in Cove, with a family of three sons and one daughter – George Mounsey, Richard Peterson, Sarah and Robert – who all inherited his artistic talents and became painters. The birth date for Richard Peterson given in Strickland’s Dictionary of Irish Artists, 1856, is unlikely to be correct. Many of his watercolours are dated to the mid 1860’s, and so his true date of birth is more likely to be around 1840. Around 1875, Richard Peterson painted a view of the steamship Sirius embarking from Cork Harbour, bound for New York. This pioneering trans-Atlantic voyage had taken place in 1838, probably before the artist was born, so again it is an historical painting of Cork Harbour. He also painted a series of watercolours, now in the Crawford Art Gallery (gift of the Cudmore family) depicting a trip by sailboat around Cork Harbour, in 1873. Formerly in the collection of the Nevada State Museum in Carson City, Naval Frigate off Cork Harbour, along with another work by R. P. Atkinson, was deaccessioned from that museum around 1960. It can be related to a similar work, in a private collection in Ireland, depicting a brigantine hove-to off the entrance to Cork Harbour, signed and dated “Richard Atkinson, Dec 19th, 1863”. Peter Murray An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

34. Andrew Nicholl R.H.A. 1804-1886

‘A view of the Giant’s Causeway, County Antrim’ Watercolour heightened with white and scraping out on paper 47 x 73 Signed.

35. John Faulkner R.H.A. c.1830-1880

‘A road scene near Ardra, Co. Donegal, Ireland’ Oil on canvas 40.5 x 61 Signed and dated 1878 and inscribed with title on reverse. An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

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36. Frederick Newenham 1807-1859

‘Rich and Rare were the Gems She Wore’ Oil on canvas laid down on wood 91.5 x 71 Signed and dated 1854. Exhibited: Royal Academy 1854 (No. 1084)

One of the artists to emerge from the shadows in the recently published Art and Architecture of Ireland is the Cork painter Frederick Newenham, whose biography in the Dictionary is illustrated by this painting, one of the only works known to survive from his hand – and which was sold by Gorry Gallery from our exhibition in March 2007. Newenham was born in 1807 and was related to Robert O’Callaghan Newenham, a topographical artist and President of the Society of Artists in Cork. At an early point in his career Newenham moved to London where, according to Strickland, he became ‘a fashionable painter of ladies’ portraits’, exhibiting a total of nineteen works at the Royal Academy between 1838 and 1855 and seventeen historical pictures at the British Institution between 1841 and 1852. The subjects of these were largely drawn from history and included Cromwell Dictating to Milton (1850), Queen Mary Beatrice Taking Shelter under the Walls of Old Lambeth Church (1851) and Princess Elizabeth Examined by the Council (1852). As William Laffan notes in Art and Architecture of Ireland: ‘The sheer scale of some of these attests to Newenham’s ambition – the Cromwell picture measured 11 ft across. . . His success as a portraitist was sealed with a commission to paint portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert for the Junior United Service Club in 1842. These were exhibited at the Royal Academy two years later. Newenham also painted scenes from literature taking inspiration from Byron’s Parisina Page 26 – Gorry Gallery – December 2015

(Royal Academy 1838) and Le Cid by Pierre Corneille (Royal Academy 1849)’. The present work was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1854 and demonstrates the artist’s ongoing engagement with Irish subject matter and specifically with the immensely popular lyric work of Thomas Moore. Takings its title from the poet’s, Rich and rare were the gems she wore, it illustrates verses from Moore’s Melodies, a source which also inspired his fellow Corkonian Daniel Maclise, Newenham’s elder by a year. Rich and rare were the gems she wore And a bright gold ring on her wand she bore But oh! Here beauty was far beyond Her sparkling gems or snow white wand. The painting (like the poem an allegory ‘on Erin’s honour and Erin’s pride’) is ‘an accomplished piece of painting’ according to Art and Architecture of Ireland and ‘shows Newenham to have been a fine colourist working in a polished high Victorian manner’. Newenham exhibited at the Academy just one more time, showing La Toilette the following year, before suffering from a mental breakdown and dying in Bethlem Hospital, London, on 21 March 1859. An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

37. Harry Jones Thaddeus R.H.A. 1860-1929 ‘Portrait of a Young Lady in a Black Feathered Hat’ Oil on board 52 x 43.5 Signed.

The sitter bears more than a passing resemblance to Rita de Acosta Lydig, a New York socialite, painted by Thaddeus in 1904 (Brendan Rooney, The Life and Work of Harry Jones Thaddeus, p. 234 illus. no. 47). She also sat to Giovanni Boldini and John Singer Sargeant. She was regarded as ‘the most picturesque woman in America‘.

38. Herbert Davis Richter R.I., R.S.W. R.O.I., R.B.A., R.B.C., P.S. 1874-1955 ‘Hydrangea’ Oil on canvas 20.5 x 25.3 Signed, with exhibition label verso.

London born painter of still-lifes and interiors. He exhibited 49 works at the R.H.A. between 1925 and 1951. An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

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39-48. Irish School, Early 19th Century ‘A Series of ten topographical Irish views’ Each pencil on card 15 x 22 with title

Provenance: The Hon. Christopher Lennox-Boyd who was one of the finest collectors of Bristish Mezzotints.

39. ‘Donnybrook’

View looking south from the river Dodder with St. Mary’s Church of Ireland church, Anglesea Road on the left designed by John Semple 1829 and old Donnybrook Bridge spanning the river Dodder built 1741 in the centre replaced by Anglesey Bridge 1832.

41. ‘Milltown’

Close up view of new Milltown Bridge spanning the river Dodder at Churchtown Road, County Dublin looking west with a glimpse of its predecessor old Milltown Bridge through the arch. The bridge which dates from the early nineteenth century still survives with modern alterations to the parapet and road levels.

40. ‘Donnybrook’

Close up view of old Donnybrook Bridge built 1741 in centre replaced by Anglesey bridge designed by John Semple and built by the firm of Henry, Mullins and McMahon c.1832 looking south from a mill race, with a sluice gate on the bottom right.

42. ‘Milltown’

Close up view of old Milltown Bridge spanning the river Dodder at Milltown, County Dublin, looking west. This bridge possibly dating from the seventeenth century survives and is still in use as a foot bridge.

43. ‘Clontarf’

A view looking east of what is now part of Clontarf Road, Dublin most probably at a place called ‘The Sheds’ all of the buildings depicted have since been demolished and much of the foreshore has since been reclaimed. To the right can be seen the South Bull wall terminating in the Poolbeg Lighthouse designed by John Smyth, built in 1767 and still in operation.

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44. ‘Marino’

View looking north from the junction of the Malahide Road and Marino Crescent, Dublin. Marino House former seat of Lord Charlemont can be seen on the left, demolished in the 1920’s. The famous Casino however (not shown) designed by Sir William Chambers remains and is open to the public. On the right can be seen a corner of Marino Crescent built in 1792 by Charles Ffolliott which survives.

46. ‘Maynooth’

This view of the Royal Canal harbour built c. 1796 at Maynooth, Co. Kildare looking north. St. Mary’s Church of Ireland church and the ruins of Maynooth Castle dating back to c.1203 can be seen on the right.

45. The Deep Sink’

This dramatic view depicts ‘The Deep Sink’ or ‘Deep Sinking’ the name given to a three mile long narrow canal cutting made through solid rock. Situated on the Royal Canal it starts west of the 12th lock near Castleknock railway station in County Dublin, and was built for the then enormous amount of £40,000.

47. ‘Mullingar’

View of Mullingar, County Westmeath probably looking west from Moran’s Bridge over the Royal Canal up Bridge Street. In the centre can be seen the spire of All Saints Church of Ireland rebuilt 1814-19. The depiction of a row of thatched cottages provides a rare record of a vanished house type.

48. ‘Ballymahon’

View of Ballymahon, County Longford looking north. The bridge in the foreground over the river Inny dates from c.1725 survives with alterations carried out c.1970. The spire is that of St. Catherine’s Church of Ireland church. The row of thatched single and two storey houses are an interesting record as old photographs show that they were later re-roofed with slate.

David J. Griffin An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

December 2015

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49. Robert Ballagh b.1943 ‘Charles Stewart Parnell’ Oil on canvas 21 x 22 Signed.

Cover Illustration for ‘History Ireland’.

50. Robert Ballagh b.1943

‘The Howth Gun-running, 1915, Molly Childers and Mary Spring Rice on board the yacht Asgard’ Oil on canvas diameter 29 Signed. Page 30 – Gorry Gallery – December 2015

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51. Ann Griffin-Bernstorff ‘Begone Licorne’ Oil on canvas 61 x 51 Signed.

The medieval legend of the young girl who attracts the fabled unicorn to it’s death haunts this child who bids to chase the animal away. Her mother despairs of her daughter’s imaginings, as they pass the Hotel de Ville, in Paris.

52. Ann Griffin-Bernstorff ‘The Ram’ Oil on canvas 63.5 x 82 Signed and dated 2015.

His image is woven through history’s tapestry. His fleece was known to be golden: his hoof is still known to be golden. Florence bloomed from his back. Ireland grew rich on his precious wool. Noble, he stands by the sheltering oak. Still loved. An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

December 2015

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53, 54, 55. Larry Burke b.1941

Born in Dublin, he studied at the National College of Art and worked in advertising. He also engaged in Media Studies and Art History.

53. ’Uptown Move’ Oil on canvas 40 x 60 Signed.

56. Harry Kernoff R.H.A. 1900-1974 ‘Orangeman 12th July’ Pastel and crayon on paper 20 x 15 Signed.

54. ’Upward Reach’ Oil on canvas 39.5 x 39.5 Signed.

55. ’Fast City Moves’ Oil on board 50 x 76 Signed. Page 32 – Gorry Gallery – December 2015

57. Helen O’Hara H.B.A.S. 1846-1920 ‘Coastal Cliffs’ Watercolour on paper 53 x 36 Signed with monogram.

An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

60. Thomas Walmsley 1763-1806 ‘Lake scene with ruins and figures’ Gouache on paper 29.5 x 39.5

58. Jeremiah Hoad 1924-1999 ‘Rock Arch – The Foreland’ Oil on board 61 x 61 Signed.

Exhibited: Gorry Gallery: Jeremiah Hoad Paintings from the West of Ireland. May 1991. Catalogue No. 32, where purchased by the present owner.

61. Thomas Walmsley 1763-1806

‘Mountainous lake scene with figures’ Gouache on paper 28.5 x 36

62. William Percy French 1854-1920

59. Harry Scully R.H.A. Fl. 1885-1935 ‘Sheep on a road’ Watercolour on paper 18 x 12 Signed and dated ’04.

An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

‘Tennis Court, possibly County Wicklow’ Watercolour on paper 18 x 25 Signed and dated 1906.

Provenance: A gift from the artist to his cousin Eleanor Digby-French, whom he stayed with frequently. December 2015

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63. Seán O’Sullivan R.H.A. 1906-1964

‘The Weaver’ Oil on wood 32.5 x 41.5 Signed, inscribed ‘Rosmuck’ and dated 1952 also signed and inscribed on original label verso’.

64. Seán O’Sullivan R.H.A. 1906-1964

‘The Weaver of Ardara, County Donegal’ Charcoal and white chalk on paper 35.5 x 45 Page 34 – Gorry Gallery – December 2015

An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

Exhibition List 1.

3. 4. 5. 6.

Alfred Elmore R.A., H.R.H.A. 1815-1881 ‘Beppo’

John Putnam 18th Century Irish School

‘Still Life of Flowers in a Basket’

William Sadler, II c.1782-1839 ‘The Village Dance’

8. 9.

Campbell 1791-1857

‘Ruins of Templeland Castle

41. ‘Milltown’

‘Distant view Powerscourt Waterfall from the park’

23. Edwin Hayes R.H.A., R.I. 1820-1904

James Arthur O’Connor c.1792-1841

24. John Faulkner R.H.A. c.1830-1880

‘Mountainous lansdcape with Figures Wicklow)

James Arthur O’Connor c.1792-1841 ‘River Landscape with Bridge’

‘The Deserted Village’

‘Shipping on a breezy day’

‘My Valley of Glenmalure from the foot of Lugnaquillia’

25. & 26. Thomas Hickey 1741-1824

‘Pair of Portraits of a Husband and Wife’

James Arthur O’Connor c.1792-1841

27. John E. Bosanquet Fl. 1844-1872

Robert Hunter c.1715/20-1801

28. William Bourke Kirwan (1814 –

‘Coastal Landscape with Figures’

‘Portrait of Dr. John Rose and his

Grandson Joseph Rose in a landscape’

10. Nathaniel Hone R.A. (the Elder) 1718-1784

‘Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait as a Young Man’

11. Eley George Mountstephen

(or Mountsteven) (active 1781-91) ‘Louis Joseph de Bourbon,

The Prince de Conde (1736-1818)’

12. Frederick Buck 1765-1840 ‘Portrait of a Gentleman’

13. Horace Hone A.R.A. 1754-1825

Dessert Plate

17. Thomas Cooley A.R.H.A. 1795-1872 ‘Reading the news’

18. Thomas Cooley A.R.H.A. 1795-1872 ‘Feeding time’

19. John Henry Campbell 1757-1828 ‘Landscape with figures and farm buildings’

44. ‘Marino’

45. ‘The Deep Sink’ 46. ‘Maynooth’

47. ‘Mullingar’

48. ‘Ballymahon’

49. Robert Ballagh b.1943

‘Charles Stewart Parnell’

50. Robert Ballagh b.1943

‘The Howth Gun-running, 1915, Molly Childers and Mary Spring Rice on board the yacht Asgard’

52. Ann Griffin-Bernstorff

‘A Rake Betrayed’

‘Begone Licorne’ ‘The Ram’

29. Aloysius O’Kelly 1853-1936

53. Larry Burke b.1941

30. Aloysius O’Kelly 1853-1936

54. Larry Burke b.1941

31. Aloysius O’Kelly 1853-1936

55. Larry Burke b.1941

32. Dermod O’Brien P.R.H.A. 1865-1945

56. Harry Kernoff R.H.A. 1900-1974

33. Richard Peterson Atkinson

57. Helen O’Hara H.B.A.S. 1846-1920

‘The Harbour, Concarneau’

‘The Fountain, Concarneau’

‘Fishing Boats in the Harbour’ ‘La Voûte sur Loire’ c.1840-1882

’Uptown Move’

’Upward Reach’

’Fast City Moves’

‘Orangeman 12th July’ ‘Coastal Cliffs’

‘Naval Frigate off Cork Harbour’

58. Jeremiah Hoad 1924-1999

‘A view of the Giant’s Causeway,

59. Harry Scully R.H.A. Fl. 1885-1935

‘A road scene near Ardra, Co. Donegal,

60. Thomas Walmsley 1763-1806

35. John Faulkner R.H.A. c.1830-1880

16. Fine Topographical Coalport

43. ‘Clontarf’

date of death unknown)

‘Portrait of a Young Gentleman’ ‘Me Play You Sing’

42. ‘Milltown’

51. Ann Griffin-Bernstorff

34. Andrew Nicholl R.H.A. 1804-1886

15. Adam Buck 1759-1833

40. ‘Donnybrook’

‘Portrait of a Young Girl’

‘Lord Edward FitzGerald (1763-1798)’

14. Adam Buck 1759-1833

views’

Campbell 1791-1857

William Sadler, II c.1782-1839 ‘Killiney Bay and Bray Head’

‘A Series of ten topographical Irish

39. ‘Donnybrook’

22. Francis Wheatley R.A. 1747-1801

‘‘The Country Dance’

39. - 48. Irish School, Early 19th Century

Co. Galway’

21. Cecilia Margaret Nairn (neé)

William Sadler, II c.1782-1839

and a Distant lake’ (probably County 7.

20. Cecilia Margaret Nairn (neé)

Ireland’

36. Frederick Newenham (1807-1859) ‘Rich and Rare were the Gems She Wore’

37. Harry Jones Thaddeus R.H.A. 1860-1929

‘Portrait of a Young Lady in a Black Feathered Hat’

38. Herbert Davis Richter

R.I., R.S.W. R.O.I., R.B.A., R.B.C., P.S. 1874-1955 ‘Hydrangea’

An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

‘Rock Arch – The Foreland’ ‘Sheep on a road’

‘Lake scene with ruins and figures’

61. Thomas Walmsley 1763-1806

‘Mountainous lake scene with figures’

62. William Percy French 1854-1920 ‘Tennis Court, possibly County Wicklow’

63. Seán O’Sullivan R.H.A. 1906-1964 ‘The Weaver’

64. Seán O’Sullivan R.H.A. 1906-1964 ‘The Weaver of Ardara, County Donegal’

December 2015

– Gorry Gallery – Page 35

Index of Artists page

page

Atkinson, Richard Peterson

Hunter, Robert

Ballagh, Robert

Irish School

Bosanquet, John E.

Kernoff, Harry

Buck, Adam

Kirwan, William Bourke

Buck, Frederick

Mountstephen, Eley George

Burke, Larry

Nairn, Cecilia Margaret (neé Campbell)

Campbell, John Henry

Newenham, Francis

Coalport

Nicholl, Andrew

Cooley, Thomas

O’Brien, Dermod

Davis Richter, Herbert

O’Connor, James Arthur

Elmore, Alfred

(front cover), 2

Faulkner, John

17, 25

O’Hara, Helen

O’Kelly, Aloysius

22 34

French, William Percy

O’Sullivan, Seán

Griffin-Bernstorff, Ann

Putnam, John

Hayes, Edwin

Sadler, William

Hickey, Thomas

Scully, Harry

Hoad, Jeremiah

Thaddeus, Harry Jones

Hone, Horace

Walmsley, Thomas

Hone, Nathaniel

Wheatley, Francis

We are grateful to the following for their kind assistance in the preparation of this catalogue: Christopher Ashe Caoimhín de Bhailís Claire Bradley Gillian Buckley Dr. Paul Caffrey Dr. Julian Campbell Mary Davies David J. Griffin Ian Haslam William Laffan Susan Mulhall Peter Murray Prof. Niamh O’Sullivan Colin Rafferty Page 36 – Gorry Gallery – December 2015

An Exhibition of 18th-21st Century Irish Paintings

FRONT COVER: Alfred Elmore R.A., H.R.H.A. 1815-1881 (detail) Catalogue Number: 1 ÂŠ Gorry Gallery

GORRY GALLERY