James Arthur O'Connor
, Irish, 1792-1841
Title
The PoachersDate1835
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
55.5 x 70.5 cm
Signedlower right: J.A. O'Connor, 1835
Credit LinePurchased, 1879
Object numberNGI.18
DescriptionThe Poachers is among the finest of O'Connor's moonlit landscapes. It is studied with great care and features a subtle blend of greens and blues that creates a clear image of rolling hills under a moonlit sky. The trio of poachers are silhouetted by a bright moon encircled by clouds. O'Connor's dramatic isolation of the poachers adds to the picture's emotional tension as poaching in the nineteenth-century carried severe penalties. O'Connor's Romanticism reached its height in the 1830s. This painting and Thunderstorm, the Frightened Waggoner (NGI.4041), also the Gallery's collection, are fine examples of his Romantic style and share an affinity with the literary Romanticism of Wordsworth.
ProvenancePurchased, Lord Powerscourt, 1879 Exhibition HistoryExhibition of Works by Irish Painters, Guildhall, London, 1904
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
Lines of Vision. Irish Writers at the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 8 October 2014 —12 April 2015
The Moon, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark, 13 September 2018 - 20 January 2019