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Joseph Malachy Kavanagh , Irish, 1856-1918

Title

Carting Seaweed on Sutton Sands

Date1895

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

71 x 92 cm

Signedlower left: J-M Kavanagh. RHA. 1895

Credit LinePurchased, 2000

Object numberNGI.4676

ProvenancePurchased, Adams & Bonhams sale, Dublin, May 2000, lot 80Exhibition HistoryRoyal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 1896, lot. 81
Label TextSome of Kavanagh’s best works depict the strands north and south of Dublin, flat expanses where seaweed gatherers and cockle pickers worked routinely. The harvesting of seaweed for food, medicine and fertiliser was a common practice throughout Europe and recorded frequently by artists. Kavanagh’s choice of subject, and his focus on atmospheric effects calls to mind the painters of The Hague School, particularly Anton Mauve, whose work Kavanagh is likely to have encountered when he was studying in Antwerp.