Before the Great Famine

Irish Arts Review

Before the Great FamineAuthor(s): Anne HodgeSource: Irish Arts Review (2002-), Vol. 28, No. 4 (WINTER (DECEMBER 2011 - FEBRUARY2012)), pp. 104-109Published by: Irish Arts ReviewStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41328930 .

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PRINTS & DRAWINGS BEFORE THE GREAT FAMINE

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104 IRISH ARTS REVIEW I WINTER 2011



WINTER 2011 I IRISH ARTS REVIEW 105



PRINTS & DRAWINGS BEFORE THE GREAT FAMINE

'My journey lay through a wild mountainous country, and the red petticoats scattered here and there upon hill and lakeside gave a romantic touch to the strange scenery for many a mile . 4

2 COTTAGE INTERIOR WITH A WOMAN SPINNING, A POT ON AN OPEN FIRE 1838 watercolour and graphite on paper 43x58cm NGI 2008.36.12 3 OLD KILLARY ROAD, WEST OF LEENANE, 1838 watercolour on paper 23x45cm NGI. 2008. 36. Л U COR, MAAM VALLEY, CONNEMARA, 1838 watercolour and graphite on paper 23x45. 5cm NGI. 2008. 36.14

This Nicholson encountered

is how (1792-1855) the

while

American

walking described

social

through

observer the

Joyce landscape

Country

Asenath she Nicholson (1792-1855) described the landscape she

encountered while walking through Joyce Country to Clifden. Her description could easily be illustrated by any one of the vivid watercolours of Connemara painted by English artist William Evans of Eton (1798-1877). Evans' richly coloured and topographically accurate images were produced during his second visit to the West of Ireland in August 1838. The collection of forty-one sheets of drawings by Evans was acquired in 2008 by the National Gallery of Ireland. The collection includes studies of the mountainous landscape around Maam, Leenane, Delphi, views of the coast near Renvyle and Achill and images of the streets and people of Galway city. Together, they give a rare picture of this beautiful and isolated part of Ireland before the devas- tation of the famine. It was a well-populated area in the first half of the 19th century - by 1841 the population density of large stretches of coastal Connemara was over 500 per square mile.2 However, the rugged terrain and the lack of roads isolated it from the rest of the country, so despite the beauty and magnificence of the landscape it was relatively unexplored by travellers or artists.

Unlike other wild and sublime locations in Kerry and Wicklow which had been 'conquered' by artists and writers in the 18th century, Connemara remained more or less unknown.3 In the early 1820s the artist and antiquarian George Petrie (1790-1866) made the arduous journey into Connemara via Tuam and Cong. He travelled initially by horse-drawn gig, laden down with sketching chairs, umbrel- las and other paraphernalia. In his memoirs Petrie remem- bered entering Tuam on a July evening in 1821 'to the no

small wonder and puzzleification [sic] of the lounging and gossiping half-dandies of the place, who judging by their looks had certainly never seen anything of this kind before' and went on to describe Connemara as 'one of the wildest and most unknown districts of the old world.'4

Interest in Connemara grew rapidly in the early decades of the 19th century fed by a variety of guide books and travel-memoirs. One of the earliest published works was: Letters from the Irish Highlands of Connemara by the Blake Family of Renvyle House , 1825, written by an Anglo- Irish landlord who moved from London to live on his Irish estates. The adventurous travellers who came to admire and sometimes record the glories of the mountains and lakes came on horseback or on foot. The first writer to publish a formal guidebook of Ireland that included detailed descriptions of Connemara was Edinburgh-born and London- based Henry D Inglis (1795-1835). Inglis had already published accounts of his travels in Scandinavia, Switzerland and Spain when in 1834 he focused his attention on Ireland. His books received favourable critical attention and were commercially successful. His tour of Ireland was so popular that it reached a fifth edition in 1838.

Inglis' influential two-volume guide to Ireland was entitled: A journey throughout Ireland during the Spring, Summer and Autumn of 1834. His route, indicated on a fold-out map, took him in a clockwise direction down the east coast from Dublin. His enthusiastic observations on the sights and people of Galway and Mayo take up four chapters and although his tone is patronising at times, overall he provides much detail on the life and customs of the Gaelic-speaking inhabi- tants. Shocked by the poverty he sees everywhere he states in the final paragraph: 'I have not studied to make this an agree- able book so much as a useful book [...] there is little real cause for jocularity in treating the condition of a starving people ...'5 Inglis' book would have been an invaluable guide for contemporary travellers and it is very likely that the drawing master William Evans (known from 1845 as William Evans of Eton to distinguish him from another artist of the same name), was armed with this guide when he set off on his first sketching trip to the West of Ireland in 1835.

William Evans grew up at Eton College near Windsor where his father Samuel taught drawing. Evans junior attended the school and on his father's retirement in 1823 was appointed drawing master. An accomplished watercolourist who had received training from Peter de Wint, he became a member of the Society of Painters in Watercolours (later known as the Old Water Colour Society) in 1830. The influence of his artist friends Edwin Landseer and John Frederick Lewis is evident in the style and subject matter of his work from the 1830s. Like the Irish artist Frederic William Burton (whom he invited to come and paint at Eton in 1862) Evans painted exclusively in watercolours throughout his career.6 From the 1820s, during the summer when the school was closed, Evans went on painting trips throughout Scotland and England. He was a




3

UNLIKE OTHER WILD AND SUBLIME LOCATIONS IN KERRY AND WICKLOW WHICH HAD BEEN 'CONQUERED' BY ARTISTS AND WRITERS IN THE 18TH CENTURY, CONNEMARA REMAINED MORE OR LESS UNKNOWN

4




from Inglis' guidebook. Spurred on perhaps by the positive reception his Irish views received, the following year Evans exhibited nine Connemara pictures at the Water Colour Society including scenes around Maam, Renvyle and Killary. Only one, Scene in the Joyce Country , did not sell. Number 133 in the catalogue, Inn on the Road to Westport Co. Mayo sold for 25 guineas to a T G Parry Esq.

Thomas Gambier Parry (1816-1888) was a wealthy young orphan who had been Evans' star pupil at Eton. Evans and his former student became friends and Parry at some point acquired the 1838 Connemara drawings. The landscapes and figure studies in watercolour remained in the Parry family collection until they were acquired by the National Gallery of Ireland. The forty-one sheets of various sizes, mostly watercolour on cream paper (although there are also six monochrome sketches in black and white watercolour on a pale grey paper) are in excellent condition, fresh and unfaded. Thirteen sheets of figure studies depict people in traditional garb engaged in conversation, selling produce or spinning flax. They were produced during Evans' second visit to Ireland in 1838.

What makes Evans' watercolours stand out from other 19th-century images of the Irish landscape is their freshness of colour, expressiveness and vitality alongside their topographical accuracy. Although some views seem unfeasibly romantic with brightly coloured figures dwarfed by high windswept skies and towering mountains, in fact, when I managed to locate Evans' viewpoint, the profiles of the mountains and other landmarks are always topographically accurate.7

There were a very limited number of routes that Evans could have taken into Connemara. We know that he was in Galway city on 17 August 1838 thanks to his pencil inscriptions on a number of the Galway drawings. These were prob-

WHAT MAKES EVANS' WATERCOLOURS STAND OUT FROM OTHER 19TH-CENTURY IMAGES OF THE IRISH LANDSCAPE IS THEIR FRESHNESS OF COLOUR, EXPRESSIVENESS AND VITALITY ALONGSIDE THEIR TOPOGRAPHICAL ACCURACY

physically large and active man who enjoyed outdoor pursuits including swimming, fishing and shooting.

A green leather bound sketchbook (now in a private collection) filled with quick pencil sketches of scenery on the west coast of Ireland shows that Evans first visited Ireland in the summer of 1835. The simple studies, some with white highlights, depict Achill, Clare Island and Delphi. Place- names and other notes are inscribed on some sheets and the date August 25, 1835 is penned on the back page. This visit was a valuable one for Evans as the following year he exhibited five finished West of Ireland views at the Water Colour Society's prestigious annual exhibition. All five sold for between thirty and thirty-five guineas, and one, An Irish Peasant Girl was bought by the Bishop of Winchester. Two of the watercolours Buttermilk Lane and The Claddagh (Figs 5&6) have titles that incorporate direct quotations

ably made towards the end of his trip as he would have had to be back in Eton for the new school term at the beginning of September. The drawings indicate that he travelled through the Maam valley, probably from Oughterard. An uninscribed drawing shows the area known as Cor (Fig 4). A figure on a donkey and two women walk along the new road which ran through the Maam Valley just north of what is now Kane's pub. There has been an inn at this strategic crossing point over the Béal na Breac River for centuries. The house was built for the engineer Alexander Nimmo who planned and supervised the construction of many roads and bridges in the area in the 1820s. Another less colourful view shows Evans' interest in depicting how the people lived in this area. He shows a roughly built thatched house with a ladder propped against a side wall. A figure and a single cow stand outside. Pencil notes litter the sheet: 'potatoes', 'oats', 'water', 'village', 'India Blue'.




BEFORE THE GREAT FAMINE PRINTS & DRAWINGS

5 BUTTERMILK LANE, GALWAY 1838 watercolour and graphite with white highlights on paper 58.8x43 cm NGI 2008.36.25 6 SPANISH ARCH, THE CLADDAGHIN DISTANCE, GALWAY 1838 watercolour and graphite on paper 33.5x45cm NGI 2008.36.16 7 FISHING HUTS ON LETTERGESH BEACH, NEAR RENVYLE watercolour and graphite with white highlights on paper 34.5x51. 1cm NGI.2008.36.29

Jotted down as aide-memoires they show that Evans, like J M W Turner, made quick pencil sketches 'in the field' including helpful inscriptions which could be worked up into more finished landscapes, through the addition of colour.

A bright airy watercolour shows the road that leads from Leenane to Clifden along the south side of Killary fjord. It appears to be a calm day with many boats visible on the water (Fig 3). Evans would have walked along the old road (the Western Way) which was above the present-day road. The exact location of the large erratic rock, with an unusual remnant of peat bog clinging to it, has not yet been identified. A view of a valley to the west of Lough Inagh, Glencoaghan, illustrates Evans' mastery at capturing the subtle colours of the Connemara landscape and his interest in accurately describing the shapes of the individual mountains and the humble dwellings of the people. This watercolour (Fig 1) is from a vantage point at the southern end of the valley with a stream in the foreground. The dark mass of Binn Dhubh partly obscured by cloud dominates the centre of the compo- sition. Bencorr can be seen on the far right while a small set- tlement of houses takes up the middle-ground. A garrai , a raised garden used to grow potatoes and other vegetables for the use of the family of the house, can be seen to the left. The remains of some of these houses can still be seen today.8 A coastal view inscribed Fishing Huts ■Éhfo between Renvile [sic] and Island is probably a view иИиД^ taken on Lettergesh beach (Fig 7). The huts are semi-sunken houses built into the sandy soil and HHH currachs can be seen drawn up onto the beach. It is HHH likely that Evans travelled by boat from this part of the coast across to Achill. Keem strand, the viewpoint for all three Achill drawings, lies directly дВИИ north of Renvyle point.

4 t The drawings of Galway city focus on notable parts of the

city including Buttermilk Lane (Fig 5). A view taken near the Spanish Arch, where the fish market was held, shows a boat with its distinctive dark red sails. This drawing was used to illustrate page 456 of Hall's Ireland (Fig 6). The closely grouped thatched houses of the Claddagh can be made out in the background. Inglis' guidebook, which Evans would have used, waxes lyrical about the Claddagh and it is likely that most of the figure studies and interiors done by Evans were drawn here, inspired by Inglis' descriptions. According to Inglis about 1,700 fishermen lived in this baile with their wives and children: 'I looked into hundreds of cabins; and there was scarcely one, in which I did not see the females busily engaged in spinning, making or mending nets. These

they make not only for use, but for sale.'9 One of Evans' detailed interior scenes (Fig 2) most likely shows a hard- working Claddagh woman at her spinning wheel. A large pot boils on the open hearth and a distinctively shaped bas- ket is visible in the foreground beside an axe. Evans carefully recorded the traditional tools and equipment used by the people. Sléans , many types of baskets, milk-churns, cooking pots and spinning wheels can all be seen in his drawings.

The enthusiasm and curiosity of the artist and his determina- tion to record accurately the beauty of the landscape, the dwellings of the people and their distinctive and traditional way of life is clearly visible in these unique drawings. Connemara, which had been ignored by G N Wright's Ireland Illustrated (1831), featured prominently in Hall's Ireland as it was commonly known, the three-volume illustrated guide written by Mr and Mrs S С Hall. It came out in 1841, closely fol- lowed by Coyne and Willis' Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland published in 1842 with delicate engravings by W H Bartlett.

Mr and Mrs Hall would have been familiar with Evans' popular Connemara paintings exhibited in London in 1835 and 1836. It is likely that they felt that the inclusion of illustrations by a well-known and respected artist would enhance the saleability of their publication. Evans was one of eighteen

artists whose drawings were included in volume three, other notable contributors being Andrew Nicholl and W H Bartlett. However, of the twenty illustrations in the book based on drawings by Evans only four are direct transla- tions. He must have created more (perhaps retained by the Halls) which became separated from the rest. In addition, given that he produced such a large volume of drawings during this tour most of which were not used by the Halls, he may have hoped to work some up for exhibition later. However, although he continued to exhibit Irish views he never showed any more Connemara scenes. ■ All images courtesy the National Gallery of Ireland. Photography © National Gallery of Ireland Anne Hodge is Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Ireland.

1 Nicholson, Asenath, 'Ireland's Welcome to the Stranger or Excursions through Ireland in 1844 and 1845 by Asenath Nicholson of New York, London, Charles Gilpin, 1847, p.371.

2 Whelan, Kevin, introduction to Letters from the Irish Highlands of Connemara by the Blake Family of Renvyle House 1833/34', Clifden, Gibbons Publications, 1995, p.vii.

3 A few visitors to Connemara before the 19th century did leave written commentary, most notably

John Dunton who published an account of the area in 1698: 'Teague land: or A merry ramble to the wild Irish'.

4 Retries memoirs quoted in Murray, Peter, George Petrie: The rediscovery of Ireland's past', 2004, p.74

5 Inglis, Henry D, 'A journey throughout Ireland during the Spring, Summer and Autumn of 1834', London: Whittaker and Co, 1834, vol. 2, p. 347

6 Connor, Louisa M, 'William Evans (1798-1877)',

exhibition catalogue, Brewhouse Gallery Eton, 1998, p. 21.

7 Thanks to Michael Gibbons, Clifden-based archae- ologist, who identified many of the previously unknown views.

8 Thanks to Eamonn Nee and Michael Gibbons for identifying this view and to Seamás Ó Siocháin, NUI Maynooth, for drawing my attention to the 'garrai'.

9 Ibid, p. 27.




Before the Great Famine

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