Figures by a Coffin - a Scene from 'The Collegians' – Explore the National Gallery of Ireland's collection:

Title

Figures by a Coffin - a Scene from 'The Collegians'

Date1840

MediumOil on canvas

Credit LinePurchased, 1983

Object numberNGI.4457

ProvenancePurchased, The Godolphin Gallery, Dublin, 1983 Exhibition HistoryAcquisitions 1982-83, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1983

In the Lion's Den: Daniel MacDonald, Ireland and Empire, Ireland's Great Hunger Museum, Connecticut, 13 January - 17 April 2016
Label TextThis painting features motifs and characters that recall Gerald Griffin’s popular novel The Collegians (1829) (later adapted for the stage by Dion Boucicault as The Colleen Bawn (1860)). The specific narrative described, however, does not correspond to an individual scene in the book. As Macdonald drew on literature more directly in other works, a clear source for this subject may yet come to light. The artist, who worked in a variety of genres, has the distinction of having produced the only known contemporaneous painting in oils of the Great Famine.