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Fergus O’Ryan RHA ANCA (1911-1989) SMITH AND PEARSON STEELWORKERS ON THE LIFFEY QUAYS, DUBLIN sig...

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Fergus O’Ryan RHA ANCA (1911-1989) SMITH AND PEARSON STEELWORKERS ON THE LIFFEY QUAYS, DUBLIN sig...
Fergus O’Ryan RHA ANCA (1911-1989)
SMITH AND PEARSON STEELWORKERS ON THE LIFFEY QUAYS, DUBLIN
signed lower right
oil on board
57 by 72cm., 22.5 by 28.5in.
While the landscape tradition in Irish painting is quite strong, pictures of
architecture, towns and industrial activity are on the whole quite unusual. Even
in Fergus O’Ryans work, which is mainly focused on landscape and townscape,
industrial subjects are rare. This view of the Liffeyside area of Guinness’s
brewery in Dublin is all the more interesting because it shows a range of sheds
probably for racking or cooperage, under construction. Through the haze of steam
and smoke we see the steel structures of a large range of sheds, with the name
of the fabricator and contractor, Smith and Pearson, proudly displayed. This
firm originated in Ship Street behind Dublin Castle, with Thomas Pearson & Co.
manufacturing wire and other steel goods later amalgamating with Smiths. By the
early 20th century they were one of the leading structural steel companies in
Dublin. The firm was wound up some 25 years ago. This quayside site was used by
Guinness from 1870 up until 1960, to ferry barrels of Guinness from the Brewery
down to larger ships at Custom House quay, from where they were exported. A
Guinness barge may be seen in the foreground, along with a lorry which suggests
a date between 1945 and 1960. Various malt houses with their steep roofs and a
chimney can be seen in the background. O’Ryan’s somewhat naïve style of painting
captures the busy industrial scene, in the decades just before road transport
completely took over from slower means of moving goods. It seems possible that
the painting could have been commissioned by Smith and Pearson to record what
must have been a very important contract for the firm.
Peter Pearson
Wexford, October 2003
€3,500-€4,500 (£2,500-£3,200 sterling approx.)