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Septimus Dawson (1851-1914) - COBBLER HOLDING 'THE FREEMAN'S JOURNAL' WITH TRAVELLER AND YOUNG APPRE

Currency:EUR Category:Art / General - Paintings Start Price:NA Estimated At:3,000.00 - 4,000.00 EUR
Septimus Dawson (1851-1914) - COBBLER HOLDING 'THE FREEMAN'S JOURNAL' WITH TRAVELLER AND YOUNG APPRE

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Auction Date:2011 Oct 10 @ 18:00 (UTC+1)
Location:Royal Dublin Society, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Dublin, Dublin, ., Ireland
Artist: Septimus Dawson (1851-1914)
Title: COBBLER HOLDING 'THE FREEMAN'S JOURNAL' WITH TRAVELLER AND YOUNG APPRENTICE
Medium: oil on canvas
Signature: signed lower left
Dimensions: 46 by 62cm., 18 by 24.5in.
Provenance:
Exhibited:
Literature:
Note: Born in Sunderland, Durham, Septimus Dawson was a painter of genre scenes, specialising in depictions of rustic types. Little is known of his career yet this and previous examples of his work, such as The Card Game, which sold through Whyte’s, 29 September 2008, lot 141 would suggest that he visited Ireland.
Akin to Erskine Nicol, ARA RSA (1825-1904), Dawson’s genre scenes offer the viewer an insight into 19th century Irish life that is characterised by a stereotypical depiction of the Irish peasant . Here a travelling vagabond and an aged shoemaker discuss an article in the Freeman’s Journal while a young apprentice looks on in amusement. The scene takes place in the cobbler’s workspace with all the typical tools and accoutrements associated with the profession decorating the setting. The ubiquitous bottle of alcohol nestled into a shelf on in the top right of the canvas, the fiddle hanging by the door and the pictures decorating the walls would suggest the shoemaker’s interests outside of his craft. The cobbler’s political stance can be interpreted by his choice of reading material. By the late 1800s The Journal, as it was widely known, was the leading newspaper in Ireland and had become the primary media supporter of Charles Stewart Parnell and the Irish Parliamentary Party. Contemporary sources record it being read to the largely illiterate population (in this case, the vagabond) by priests and local teachers among others.