A NEW exhibition celebrating River Lee and following its course from West Cork to the sea will feature artworks dating back almost 300 years.
The River Lee rises in the Shehy Mountains and Gougane Barra in West Cork and travels east to its meeting with the Celtic Sea at the mouth of Cork Harbour.
From Source To Sea has opened at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork city, and features artworks from the 1750s through to the present day.
Each painting, drawing, print, and sculpture looks to offer a perspective on the river, the stories it has carried and collected, and the places and people it has shaped, and changed.
The exhibition features much-loved paintings, ranging from John Butts’ View of Cork from Audley Place (c.1750) and Whipping the Herring out of Town (c.1800) by Nathaniel Grogan, to George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson’s Paddle Steamer Entering the Port of Cork (1842) and Skellig Night on South Mall (1845) by James Beale.
Hugh C Charde’s study of Inchigeelagh, both from the Crawford Art Gallery’s exhibition.
These are joined by the work of artists Sarah Grace Carr, Kate Dobbin, John Fitzgerald, Robert Gibbings, Patrick Hennessy, Seán Keating, Diarmuid Ó Ceallacháin, and George Petrie.
Recent acquisitions by Ita Freeney, Bernadette Kiely, and Donald Teskey offer new contexts, while portraits by Séamus Murphy, Nano Reid, and Eileen Healy recall rich tales from the Lee Valley, including The Tailor and Ansty and the inimitable voice of Cónal Creedon.
‘It’s been such a pleasure to take a journey along the River Lee itself,’ said exhibiton curator Michael Waldron. ‘I hope visitors will take as much enjoyment in following its course, connecting with the river’s rich history and culture, and maybe even get inspired to take their own stroll at Gougane Barra, Lee Fields, or the Marina.’
From Source To Sea is on until September 22nd in the Gibson Galleries at Crawford Art Gallery.
