William Conor RHA RUA ROI (1881-1968)
Belfast Shipyard Worker on 15th April 1912 UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,200 AT HAMMER
The significance of this image of a Belfast shipyard worker made by William Conor (1881-1968) is the date – April 15, 1912. The seated worker looks contemplative. It is easy to imagine from the image that he has just had a real shock.
The significance of the date is that this was the day the Titanic sank in the early hours. The pose of the sitter suggests that the news had just broken at the Harland and Wolff shipyard where she was built.
The wax on crayon is both signed by William Conor and, unusually, dated. He did not normally date his work. Estimated at 1,500-2,500 it comes up at Morgan O’Driscoll’s first Irish art online auction of 2017 which runs to January 23. It is one of 213 lots in total and the catalogue is online.
These days the Titanic Centre in Belfast is one of the most visited attractions on the island of Ireland.