Portrait collection goes online
Last month we launched our new online archive and object
catalogue, which makes it much easier for us to share images of our
collections. This is even more important in the current situation when it is
not possible to visit our collections in person. Today, we are very pleased to
release a catalogue of the College’s portrait collection, which contains over
70 works of art representing figures from over three centuries of Irish medical
history.
In her review of portraits of Irish medicine, the art
historian Anne Crookshank commented that:
“Outside their artistic value, [they] proved to be remarkable social
documents, giving an insight into the attitudes to doctors through the
centuries, reaching a peak of magisterial grandeur in the mid-nineteenth
century when consultant’s portraits show them as the leaders, almost the gods,
of society equal in magnificence of their portrayal with the images of the
aristocracy. Perhaps sadly for them, but the better for us, the twentieth
century has cut them down to size human beings again in their small canvases,
our equals, even our friends.”
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Sir Patrick Dun
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The two earliest portraits in our collection, of John
Stearne and Sir Patrick Dun, are both considered to be the works of late
seventeenth century artist Thomas Pooley. The eighteenth century is somewhat
underrepresented, with just a couple of smaller portraits, including Henry
Quin, Sir Edward Barry and Charles Lucas (on loan from Dublin City Council).
The notable exception is a large portrait, probably of George Cleghorn, by the
Irish artist Mary Ann Hunter, completed when she was still in her teens.
With the move to Kildare Street in 1864 the College gained
more space to display portraits and this, combined with the growing wealth and
prestige of the profession, led to the ‘peak of magisterial grandeur’ seen in
the large scale works of the Catterson Smiths and Sir Alfred Jones. Pride of
place in this group is given by Crookshank to the portrait of Sir Dominic
Corrigan by Stephen Catterson Smith the elder.
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| Sir Dominic Corrigan |
In the first half of the twentieth century the collection
again reflects Crookshanks’ summary, with a move away from large scale oils to
smaller less formal drawings. These include works by Sean O’Sullivan, John
Butler Yeats and Estelle Solomons. The only portrait of a female in the
collection also dates from this period, Dr Kathleen Lynn by Lily Williams,
originally displayed in St Ultan’s Hospital. Although female sitters are
noticeably absent from the College’s collections, female artists are better
represented, with Sarah Purser and Sarah Cecilia Harrison joining those already
mentioned.
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Kathleen Lynn
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The College’s portrait collection continues to develop as in
2015 were received a donation of the portraits of Henry Grey Croly and Charles
Benson from the former Royal City of Dublin Hospital. We also continue to
commission portraits of our Presidents, with works by Maeve McCarthy, James
Hanley and Carey Clarke added in recent years. The portrait of Prof Mary
Horgan, our first female President, is currently under commission.
You can view descriptions of all our portraits, and images of all but four of them, on our online catalogue