Edward Henry Murphy
, Irish, c.1796-1841
Title
ParoquetsDatec.1830
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
86.4 x 66 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1871
Object numberNGI.161
Exhibition HistoryExhibition of the Fine Arts and Oriental Art, Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, 1861
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 TextThree birds are shown against the ruins of a gothic building: a scarlet macaw, a white Moluccan cockatoo and, behind, a green ring-necked parakeet. The birds' rich colours and their pyramidal arrangement in the painting create a dramatic composition. This is the finest identified painting by the enigmatic artist Edward Henry Murphy. He trained in Dublin and exhibited paintings of still lifes, birds, and animals at the Royal Hibernian Academy from 1826-41.