The ethos of Quakerism informed the impulse to establish Waterford’s Municipal Art Collection, writes Peter Murray
In 2016 the artist Blaise Smith was commissioned by the OPW and Waterford City and County Council to paint a panoramic view of the city made famous by crystal glass. Inspired by Willem van der Hagen’s 1736 View of Waterford (Fig 1), a key work in the Municipal Art Collection, Smith’s painting shows how the city has evolved over the centuries (see IAR vol 33 no 4). Positioning himself at the same vantage point as van der Hagen, rather than using one canvas, he created a painting using many square panels. The resulting panorama, some five metres wide, is now on view in the Waterford Council offices. The local pride that spurred this commission is evident also in the opening, in September 2019, of the Waterford Gallery of Art. Located in the former Savings Bank on O’Connell Street, the gallery houses the city’s fine-art collection.
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