Is this painting the earliest known depiction of Irish road bowling?
What is billed as the earliest known painting of Irish road bowling will be offered at the Chelsea Antiques Fair in London. Bagshawe Fine Art will display the work at the fair at Chelsea Town Hall from March 18 to March 22. Art dealer Nicholas Bagshawe said: “It is not yet totally certain who the artist of this picture is, but we are becoming increasingly convinced that it is the work of Nathanial Grogan junior (c1765-1820). The work is dateable from the style of painting and the costumes worn to 1790-1800. Bowling, which is possibly of Dutch origin, has been played in Ireland since the 17th century and is still played today on the country roads of counties Cork and Armagh.
According to Dr. Fintan Lane, the author of “Long Bullets – A History of Irish Road Bowling”, this is the earliest known depiction of the sport. Up to now the earliest known painting of bowling was Daniel MacDonald’s Bowling Match at Castlemary which dates to 1842 and is in the collection of the Crawford Gallery in Cork. Nicholas Bagshawe believes the Grogans, both senior and junior, are the most likely candidates for this work. “As art historians start to differentiate their work more accurately it seems that Nathanial Grogan senior, while a better known and seemingly more prolific artist, might not have been capable of painting a large front of stage figure with quite the fluency shown here. It is more likely that we are looking at the work of his son”. Grogan junior is also known to have exhibited a painting during his lifetime called The Bowl Players.