When Walter Strickland first published his Dictionary of Irish Artists in 1913, he listed this picture as being in the collection of a Mrs Lombard in Milltown, Dublin. Painted by Stephen Catterson Smith, President of the Royal Hibernian Academy - where the work was first exhibited in 1856 - it is a portrait of the artist's son, also called Stephen, who would, in turn, become secretary of the RHA.
Of the older man, Strickland observes that "during his long career as a painter, there was scarcely an eminent person in Ireland who did not sit to him". Understandably, the work shown here, included in a sale of paintings at Mullen's of Laurel Park, Dublin, next Monday, carries an estimate of £5,000-£7,000. While the auction features work by English and other European artists, the greatest interest is likely to rest with paintings from this country, such as a delightful portrait by Robert Ponsonby Staples of his wife Ada (£4,000-£6,000) and Anne Stafford-King-Harmon's West of Ireland Harbour Scene (400-£500). The sale is due to begin at 7 p.m.
