At this time of year, when the number of auctions is relatively small, collectors are provided with an excellent opportunity to visit some of our public institutions and see there work by artists whose work is liable to come up for sale in the coming months. This is particularly helpful in cases where the gallery possesses a number of pictures by the same painter, or where the latter's oeuvre is relatively unfamiliar. There is, in addition, an awareness that if an artist is represented in a national institution, then his or her work is certain to be of some merit. For all these reasons, it is especially worthwhile spending time in the National Gallery of Ireland which has mounted a small but delightful exhibition in the building's north wing.
This show focuses on the gallery's national portrait collection, originally established in 1875 by Henry Doyle, the NGI's second director and greatly augmented by his successor Walter Armstrong. Before the end of the 19th century, the collection had developed sufficiently for it to receive praise from the Freeman's Journal which in 1897 observed that this part of the gallery was "one of the most interesting places" into which visitors "eagerly turn with most pleasure to the portraits of our noble men and women". Some of the 18 pictures from the collection currently on show - such as that showing the Countess of Coventry, one of the 18th century Gunning sisters renowned for their beauty - were not created by Irish artists and are therefore of interest primarily for historical reasons. A relative rarity among the Irish group is a portrait of the actress Peg Woffington by John Lewis, of whom little is known before he was engaged in 1750 by the Smock Alley Theatre group as a scene-painter.
He produced his justly-celebrated image of Woffington three years after this date; at the beginning of the 20th century, the work was owned by a Mr Barrett of Co Laois who sent it for auction to Christie's where the purchaser was the NGI. Few, if any, of Lewis's pictures are likely to come up for sale again. However, other artists who feature are far more familiar. The portrait on show of Dean Swift, for instance, is by Charles Jervas; a pair of pictures attributed to this artist were offered by James Gorry of Dublin last year.
Then there are a number of early 20th century works by painters who regularly feature in both Irish and British salesrooms, such as Norah McGuinness and Sir John Lavery. Slightly rarer are pictures by Sarah Purser, whose highly-finished oil sketch of Roger Casement painted in 1914 two years before his death can be seen here; so can a portrait of the politician John Redmond by Henry J Thaddeus dating from 1901, the year in which this artist became a full member of the Royal Hibernian Academy.
Thaddeus is an interesting example of a painter who was extremely productive, once enjoyed a considerable reputation (his career as a portrait artist began in 1884 after he received a commission for such a work from the Duke of Teck) but has since been largely overlooked. And he is certainly an artist who deserves to be given serious interest whenever examples of his work come up, as they are sure to do during the next 12 months, at auction. The chance to see his admirable picture of Redmond is reason enough to visit this exhibition.
