Currently indexing
Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Irish, 1740-1808
Title: Portrait of John Philpot Curran (1750-1817)
Date: c.1798-1799
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
76.2 x 63.5 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, 1908
Object Number: NGI.592
DescriptionRenowned barrister and member of Grattan's party in parliament, John Philpot Curran (1750-1815) acted as defence counsel for a number of the United Irishmen involved in the rebellion of 1798. It is a contrived likeness of Curran, who was widely recorded as being unprepossessing physically, but gives a perceptive and insightful representation of his character. Thomas Crofter Croker recalled that though one 'began by being prejudiced against his bad character and ill-looking appearance' one was 'at last carried away by his splendid language and by the power of his metaphors'.
ProvenancePurchased, Mrs Kirkpatrick, 1908
Exhibition HistoryIrish Portraits 1660-1860, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 14 August - 14 October 1969; National Portrait Gallery, London, 30 October 1969 - 4 January 1970; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 28 January - 9 March 1970
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
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