FOUR OF the earliest known paintings of Belfast were yesterday returned to the city after being out of public view for more than 200 years.
The four landscapes, valued at £1 million, date from 1766, and capture what was then a burgeoning settlement on the river Lagan a century before the industrial revolution.
The works were commissioned by Arthur Hill, the 1st Viscount of Dungannon, and depict the views of the town from his then residence on the Belvoir estate. Painted by Dublin artist Jonathan Fisher, they are acknowledged by art historians as the earliest images of Belfast still in existence.
After being in private hands for more than 200 years, the landscapes were recently purchased at auction at Sotheby’s in London by Belfast developers William Ewart Properties. Company owners Frank Boyd and Andrew Creighton, both avid art collectors, have now agreed to lend the works to the Ulster Museum for its reopening exhibition next year.
Eileen Black, curator of pre-20th century Irish paintings at the museum, said she was delighted to have to chance to display them.
“We are privileged to help facilitate the first public viewing of these paintings in over 200 years. Jonathan Fisher is a very accomplished landscape painter of the period, and these are exceptionally fine examples of his work.
“However, perhaps even more importantly, the local historical value of these works is immense. We know of no other such views of Belfast and its environs in the 1760s, and what the four paintings show of the town nestling in the Lagan Valley is of enormous worth.
“In my view these paintings are an extremely important part of Northern Ireland’s heritage, and we are immensely grateful that Ewart has brought the paintings home and is willing to lend them to us for our launch exhibition when the Ulster Museum reopens next year.” – (PA)