Peter Murray highlights paintings from the recent collection donated to the Crawford Art Gallery by the Port of Cork Company
Famed for its safe anchorages, over the centuries Cork Harbour has also provided visual artists with a wide range of subject matter. From the Elizabethan Wars, through the development of New World colonies to the American War of Independence and the Napoleonic era, artists have recorded, in paintings, drawings and prints, maritime traffic passing through the harbour. Convict fleets used Cork as an embarkation point, as did transatlantic liners up to and after World War II, and Cork has long been a focal point for emigration from Ireland to America. Through the efforts of the Port of Cork, Crawford Art Gallery and other institutions and collectors, a considerable amount of visual material relating to the history of the harbour has been preserved. Although most of these works date from the 19th century, there is a panel by William Van der Hagen, dating from 1738, depicting Haulbowline Island; some decades later Peter Monamy painted yachts of the Cork Water Club.
Stephanie McBride explores Deirdre Brennan’s photographic response to James Joyce’s Ulysses
