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Matthew Kendrick RHA (1805-1874)
Yachts Racing off Dublin Bay with a Paddle Steamer in the Distance
Oil on canvas, 46 x 86cm (18 x 33¾”)
Signed
Matthew Kendrick was born in Dublin in 1805, the son of a custom’s officer. His father undoubtedly
used his position to procure a place on a ship for the young Kendrick, and his formative years were spent
working off the harsh Newfoundland coast as a seaman. Returning to Ireland, and encouraged by others
he enrolled in The Dublin Society Schools, hardly surprisingly his work mainly focused on maritime
subjects.
In Dublin his vast knowledge of the sea and sailing made him a sought-after professional crewman on
the yachts raced in Dublin Bay from the two newly formed Kingstown yacht clubs The Royal Irish and
The Royal St. George.
First exhibiting with the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1827 Kendrick exhibited regularly up until 1871,
when paralysis robbed him of the use of his arm. At this point he left Dublin for London where he spent
the remaining years of his life. Kendrick was elected associate member of the Royal Hibernian Academy
in 1832 and a full member in 1850.
During his lifetime he became the official painter to The Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire.The
club’s collection includes some of his finest works, depicting the mail steamer of Kingstown 1866. The
Royal Collection also has another fine example depicting Queen Victoria’s departure with the Royal
Squadron from Kingstown Harbour in 1852.
The present lot depicts yacht racing at the birth of what was to become a golden age of the sport. Two
large cutters, racing closely have rounded a mark, presumably in Dublin Bay, whilst onlookers gather on
the deck of a paddle steamer in the distance.The two yachts in the lead are trailed by a third, who has yet
to round the mark.The size and style of the yachts are similar to the 1
st
Marquis of Anglesey’s yacht
Pearl
,
a hundred tonne behemoth, that the Marquis brought over from England to race when he was Lord
Lieutenant
.
The Marquis was the first Commodore of The Royal Irish yacht club which was founded in
1831 - a yacht club for which Kendrick had strong ties.
€5,000 - 7,000
