Londonderry on the River Foyle, County Derry, Beyond a Bank of Flowers

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Andrew Nicholl , Irish, 1804-1886

Title

Date1830s

MediumWatercolour on paper

Dimensions

35.5 x 52.2 cm

Signedlower right (in ink): A Nicholl R.H.A.

Credit LinePurchased, 1976

Object numberNGI.7769

DescriptionHidden behind a bank of flowers, which are familiar landscape device of the artist Nicholl, is the city of Derry-Londonderry. The monastic site was founded by St Columb and given city status by Elizabeth I, '...situated upon a conical hill, the base of which is washed by the noble River Foyle' (Ireland Illustrated, 1831). A cluster of ships' masts and the 336m wooden bridge by Bostonian, Lemuel Cox, reflect wealth from trade. It is topped by the cathedral, whose spire was added by the colourful Earl Bishop of Derry. He even included it in his Italian Grand Tour portrait by Batoni. Less clear are the walls defended in the famous siege by James II's army in 1688 and witness to more recent political upheaval. This year, as European City of Culture, while remembering the past, there is a celebration of music, art and sport.
ProvenancePurchased, Private Collection, 1976 Exhibition HistoryIrish Watercolours 1675-1925, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, 1976

Master European Drawings From the Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centre, Colorado; Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park; Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin; Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; The Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minnesota; The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1983