William Ashford
, English, 1746-1824
Title
An Idyllic LandscapeDate1778
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
110.8 x 151.7 cm
SignedWAshford Pinxt 1778 [W and A conjoined]
(Irish Paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland, Volume 1, Nicola Figgis & Brendan Rooney, 2001)
Credit LinePurchased, 1984 (Lane Fund)
Object numberNGI.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, 1971Aspects 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.