John Faulkner (1835-1894)  “Loading Peat, Co. Westmeath” ...

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 John Faulkner (1835-1894) 

“Loading Peat, Co. Westmeath”  c 1860, watercolour on paper approx. 43cms x 71cms (17" x 28") inscribed l.r. ‘cattle by J MacPherson’

While the extraction of peat from the bogs of Co. Westmeath goes back centuries, providing fuel for heating, in recent times intensive harvesting has become a contentious issue, as bogs and wetlands are now depleted. In Westmeath (and spanning several other counties), the Bog of Allen, one of the largest areas of peat in Ireland, is now becoming a protected wetlands environment. In the mid-nineteenth century however, harvesting peat was popular and widespread, restricted mainly by what could be cut by hand. This watercolour by John Faulkner depicts a cargo of turf being loaded onto a barge moored alongside a makeshift quay, perhaps on Lough Owel or Lough Ennell, from where canals enabled barges to sail to Mullingar, and connect with the Royal Canal. An improvised crane has been set up to transfer the peat onto the barge. On board the barge, three men stack turf, a man stands at the tiller, while in the foreground, a woman sits on the bank. In the left foreground, cattle stand in the shallows, while on the far bank, a punt ferrying people is propelled by a boatman pulling on a line. The scene has been enlivened by the inclusion of cattle painted by John MacPherson, an artist who collaborated with Faulkner on several other works, including In Broomsbury Park (Morgan O’Driscoll 2020). In the right foreground, a drover with a stick drives a bull along a path flanked by rushes.

A student at the Royal Dublin Society’s School in 1848, Faulkner began to exhibit at the RHA from 1852 onwards. He became an ARHA in 1861 and a full member the following year, but some personal difficulty resulted in his resigning from the Academy in 1870 and emigrating to America, where he remained for a decade or so. Returning to Ireland, he afterwards settled in London, and in the 1880’s recommenced exhibiting at the RHA. Over the course of his career, Faulkner painted many landscapes with lakes and rivers, cattle and bridges. Although he occasionally collaborated with MacPherson, his own depictions of animals are quite competent. He worked in Scotland, North Wales, West Cork, Donegal, Connemara and Mayo, and throughout England. He also painted maritime scenes--generally rocky coastlines--including Ireland’s Eye, Crookhaven, Goleen and Cape Clear. Several of his English views depict scenes near Rickmansworth in Herefordshire, while others are set at locations near Warwick and Uxbridge. A watercolour by him, in the collection of the Crawford Art Gallery, depicts the river Avon near Warwick.

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Auction Date: 23rd Mar 2022 at 2:30pm

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Sale Dates:
23rd Mar 2022 2:30pm (Lots 1 to 235)