This painting by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson – Naval Ships off Roches Point – show two frigates of the Royal Navy with a date that appears to read 1855. The former curator of the Crawford Gallery Peter Murray reckons it to be one of the most significant works by the Cork artist. Atkinson was born in Cove, later Queenstown and now Cobh, around 1806 and spent his early life at sea as a ships carpenter. He became government surveyor of shipping and emigrants at Queenstown, where he was known as Captain Atkinson. He was a self taught artist whose works show a thorough knowledge of the sea. His three sons and one daughter all later became painters. Atkinson first showed at the Cork Art Union in 1841 and exhibited in the Royal Hibernian Academy from 1842. The work will be displayed at the Gorry Gallery, Molesworth St., Dublin as part of an exhibition of 17th-21st century Irish art which runs from May 23 until June 8.
