William Ashford, English, 1746-1824
Title: An Idyllic Landscape
Date: 1778
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
110.8 x 151.7 cm
Signed: WAshford Pinxt 1778 [W and A conjoined]
(Irish Paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland, Volume 1, Nicola Figgis & Brendan Rooney, 2001)
Credit Line: Purchased, 1984 (Lane Fund)
Object Number: NGI.4484
ProvenanceThe Duke of Leinster, Carton, County Kildare; purchased with the Carton estate by Lord Brocket; by family descent; purchased, through the Leger Galleries Ltd., 1984
Exhibition HistoryIrish Art in the 19th Century, Crawford Municipal School of Art, Cork, 1971
Aspects of Irish Art, Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio; Toledo Museum of Arts, Toledo, Ohio; St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, Missour, 1974
Acquisitions 1982-83, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1983
James Arthur O'Connor, The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, November-December 1985; The Ulster Museum, Belfast, February-March 1986; Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork, March-April 1986
Aspects of Irish Art, Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio; Toledo Museum of Arts, Toledo, Ohio; St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, Missour, 1974
Acquisitions 1982-83, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1983
James Arthur O'Connor, The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, November-December 1985; The Ulster Museum, Belfast, February-March 1986; Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork, March-April 1986
Label TextThis sumptuous classical landscape is inspired by the Italian views of French painter Claude Lorrain. The eye is led to a ruined abbey, which looks more Irish than Italianate, then on to a bridge with ruins nearby. Ashford arrived in Ireland in 1764 to take up a post in the Ordnance Office. He had little experience in landscape painting, yet became a sophisticated artist within a decade. This is one of three canvases painted for the 2nd Duke of Leinster for his house at Carton, Co. Kildare.