Lot 3: RICHARD BRYDGES BEECHEY

RICHARD BRYDGES BEECHEY 1808-1895 VIEW OF PART OF DUBLIN BAY, FROM THE ROCKS BETWEEN SALTHILL AND SEAPOINT STATIONS signed and dated l.r.: RBeechey , 1869 ; titled on the stretcher oil on canvas 64 by 102cm.; 25¼ by 44in.

Dublin, Royal Hibernian Academy, 1869, no. 156.

The present work offers a highly important historical view of Dublin Bay in the late 1860s observed from Seapoint station towards West Pier, Dun Laoghaire. Beechey delights in the details of the scene. Among the rocks women are engaged in various activities, one reads with her friends and others sit while their children play. Out on the far edge of the rocks, a group of boys fish. The bay is a hive of activity with fishing and sailing boats, a rowing boat ferrying passengers and a canoeist. Two steam ships pass along the horizon and behind West Pier, the mast of Tall Ships can be seen. These details demonstrate the continual historical importance of the bay in the life of the city. Perhaps most interesting of all is the early record this painting provides of the recent rail network and newly developed Seapoint station, completed in 1862. A carriage passes under the footbridge, steam rising from its engine and in the distance another steam train can be seen. The large building on the horizon is Salthill Hotel and the row of Georgian houses running along the hilltop can still be seen today.



Richard Beechey was the son of the eminent artist Sir William Beechey R.A. and Lady Beechey, a talented miniaturist who also exhibited at the Royal Academy. He led a distinguished life as naval officer and marine painter, mostly depicting ships in stormy conditions. He joined the Royal Navy at the age of fourteen, eventually ascending to the rank of Admiral. Although he was of English descent, Beechey moved to Monkstown, Co. Dublin after his marriage to an Irish lady. He painted many seascapes whilst working with the Navy in Shannon and off the West Coast of Ireland. After his retirement in 1864, he devoted himself to capturing coastal views and activities closer to home in Co. Dublin, a fine example being the present work.