Matthew James Lawless, Irish, 1837-1864
Title: A Sick Call
Date: 1863
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
63 x 103 cm
Signed: lower right: M.J. Lawless 1863
Credit Line: Purchased, 1925
Object Number: NGI.864
ProvenanceColtart Sale, 1917; purchased, Captain R. Langton Douglas, 1925
Exhibition HistoryCorp. of Liverpool Walker Art Gallery, 1890
Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1863
Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Manchester, 1887
Ierse Schilders der 19e en 20e eeuw, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1951
Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
Irish Art in the 19th Century, Crawford Municipal School of Art, Cork, 31 October - 29 December 1971
The Revolt of the Pre-Raphaelites, Lowe Art Museum, Miami, 1972
Aspects of Irish Art, a Loan Exhibition; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio, 27 January - 3 March 1974; Toledo Museum of Arts, Toledo, Ohio, 17 March - 14 April 1974; St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, Missouri, 3 May - 9 June 1974
Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1863
Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Manchester, 1887
Ierse Schilders der 19e en 20e eeuw, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1951
Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
Irish Art in the 19th Century, Crawford Municipal School of Art, Cork, 31 October - 29 December 1971
The Revolt of the Pre-Raphaelites, Lowe Art Museum, Miami, 1972
Aspects of Irish Art, a Loan Exhibition; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio, 27 January - 3 March 1974; Toledo Museum of Arts, Toledo, Ohio, 17 March - 14 April 1974; St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, Missouri, 3 May - 9 June 1974
Label TextThe subject of this sombre picture, a clergyman being rowed across a river to administer the last rites, must have had a particular resonance for Lawless, who had suffered ill-health for some time. A lamp on the boat flickering dimly, another emitting no light at all, and a sickle and scattering of cut-flowers suggest that the travelling party’s anxious prayers are in vain. The setting was probably inspired by Lawless’s earlier journey to France and Belgium. A great admirer of Meissonier, Lawless is now known by illustrations and just a handful of highly detailed paintings.