Description

View of the Killaries ~ Bartholomew Colles Watkins.

View of the Killaries ~ Watkins is a painting of Killary Harbour in Connemara. This area marks the border between counties Galway and Mayo. An eight-mile long fjord-like inlet with mountains on either side. The harbour is still one of Ireland’s most celebrated beauty spots. Watkins captures its’ majesty in meticulous detail. In addition, the harbour is a hive of activity. You can see fishermen harvesting the waters’ rich stock of herring. Irish greeting cards blank for your message suitable for all occasions. 

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Bartholomew Colles Watkins.

Watkins is a prominent landscape painter in the second half of the nineteenth century. Born in Dublin in 1833, his father was a glove maker. The artist studies at the Royal Dublin Society, where he gains prizes for figure drawing. From the 1850s onwards, Watkins spent time travelling around Ireland. This is reflected in Watkins’ View of the Killaries depicting the rugged and wild Irish landscape in a Romantic style.

In his ‘Dictionary of Irish Artists’ (1913), Walter Strickland notes that Watkins ‘carefully built up his pictures, working upon and finishing small portions before he touched the rest’. In conclusion, in 1891, Watkins caught a severe cold during a sketching trip to Kerry, leading to fatal congestion of the lungs. Watkins died in Upper Lauragh, County Kerry, and was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin.

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