Lot 88: Joseph Poole Addey (1852-1922) AN IRISH HOMESTEAD signed and dated [1890] lower right watercolour heightened with white 33 by 51cm., 13 by 20in.

Joseph Poole Addey (1852-1922) AN IRISH HOMESTEAD signed and dated [1890] lower right watercolour heightened with white 33 by 51cm., 13 by 20in. Provenance: Dr. Watson, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone; Private collection, Northern Ireland In this admirable watercolour Addey has portrayed Irish rural life at its most prosperous and contented. Two young boys in the foreground look candidly at the viewer - relaxed, well dressed and shod. A woman and another boy stand at a discreet distance, whilst the man of the house takes his leisure, leaning against a half- door. The homestead itself shows signs of having been added to and enlarged, whilst goats, geese, a cow and turkeys are further material signs of sound economy and indeed moral virtuousness At the time this was painted, Addey had relinquished a teaching post in Derry and was living in Dublin, painting neighbouring villages in north Co. Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford. Works such as this lend strength to the argument that he must be counted among the leading Irish watercolourists of his day.