Lot 25: William Turner de Lond (fl. c. 1820 - c. 1837)

William Turner de Lond (fl. c. 1820 - c. 1837)
A View from Bank Place, Limerick: the New Bridge and George's Quay, with the County Courthouse and St. Mary's Cathedral behind
pencil and bodycolour, watermark Strasburg lily
17 1/8 x 22¼ in. (43.6 x 56.6 cm.)

Crookshank & Glin, The Painters of Ireland, 1978, p. 198, pl. 189 (as Attributed to Samuel Frederick Brocas).
Crookshank & Glin, The Watercolours of Ireland, 1994, pp. 146-147, pl. 189.
Laffan, Painting Ireland, 2006, p. 68, pl. 37.

Viscounts Guillamore.
Anonymous sale; Christie's London, 9 July 1985, lot 113.

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During his visit to Ireland in the early 1820s, Turner de Lond executed two known views of Limerick, one from the North Strand (sold Christie's London, 10 July 1984, lot 175, now in the Limerick Museum) and the present watercolour.

Turner de Lond's attention to detail, both generally and topographically, is remarkable. He has chosen to depict the streets filled with the hubbub of daily life, illustrating the variety of citizenry, from the women washing their clothes in the river to the ladies riding in the elegant horse-drawn landau in the centre of the watercolour. The carriage is traditionally believed to be that of Standish O'Grady, 1st Viscount Guillamore (1766-1840) who served as Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland for a number of years.

The topography of the view has also been painstakingly recorded providing an accurate depiction of the townscape of Limerick in the 1820s. The neo-classical building in the centre of the watercolour is the County Courthouse, built in 1809 with a portico added in 1814. Until 1760 a medieval wall ran alongside the river but was replaced by George's Quay, visible in the present watercolour on the far side of the river, along which stood various shops and dwellings, a number of which were refaced with red-brick facades, one with a Dutch-style gable. To the right of the watercolour can be seen the tower of St. Mary's Cathedral, the oldest building in Limerick, founded in 1168 and built on the site of a palace that was donated to the people of the city by Donal Mor O'Brien, King of Munster.