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10.
FRANK MCKELVEY RHA RUA (1895-1974)
Off to the Fishing Grounds
Oil on canvas, 38 x 51cm (15 x 20”)
Signed
Provenance: Purchased from The Arches Gallery in January 2002 by the current owner.
€10,000 - 15,000
John Hewitt observed of Frank McKelvey; ‘In landscape he maintains the Constable-Impressionist mode, to me most significant in his rendering of evening
light on level estuaries, the gritty squall from bleak sand-dunes, and, best of all, in the stir of children watching at the sea’s edge in sunset….McKelvey is an
accomplished and fluent water-colourist.’ (89). In 1923, The Studio stated ‘that in the North, the best men were, almost without exception, engrossed in land-
scape: ‘Their landscapes, though by no means emotional, are always most obviously sincere, closely observed, firmly and cleanly handled.’ (Snoddy, 391). This
observation of paintings lacking emotion was directed at McKelvey, Craig and Henry and yet it is quite evidently not the case in McKelvey’s work. His composi-
tions, while very carefully planned, closely observed and meticulously rendered, can certainly not be considered devoid of sentiment. Technical accuracy
does not replace emotion. It appears, however, that a practitioner such as McKelvey who was businesslike, punctual and well-presented, was somewhat of
an anomaly as an artist and was thus perceived as a man who painted principally to make a living. Conversely, it is this range of characteristics and attributes
that demonstrate McKelvey’s devotion to his craft. He was industrious, accomplished, a keen fisherman and a strong disciple of plein air practice. Donegal,
Northern Ireland and the West of Ireland were areas he returned to again and again to capture the sea, the land and the people. His interest in fishing is
strongly evident in his portrayal of small rowing boats and sailing boats in his compositions. Even in paintings where he has been commissioned to depict a
particular vessel, as in his representation of a member of the John Kelly Ltd fleet ‘The ‘Ballyrush’ at Warrenpoint Harbour,’ he takes the opportunity to enliven
the foreground by depicting an open rowing boat with three fishermen and a small group of gulls above.
In McKelvey’s painting ‘Unloading the Catch, Bunbeg,’ the principal activity of the title occurs off-centre to the middle right of the composition, subtle and
pared down. Consequently the figures and their small boat are diminutive elements in an aesthetically balanced Donegal seascape. Instead here in ‘Off to the
Fishing Grounds,’ the moored fishing boats and the departing vessel under sail with three fishermen contained, are the focal point and are equally important
as their surroundings. The treatment of the cottages here with turf piled alongside is similar to the artist’s ‘Falcarragh, Co. Donegal,’ but somewhat freer and
executed in a more impressionist vein than is common for McKelvey, likely signaling a later work in his oeuvre. This particular approach suits the theme and
character of the composition. Figures are quite loosely indicated but fittingly so. The sea is relatively calm but the sunlight upon the scene suggests a sense
of purpose in the task at hand. McKelvey employs a range of devices to draw the eye into the painting, dark rocks in the foreground, leading to the central
components of the composition the land mass, cottages and boats, on to the subtler rendering of mountains and clouds above the horizon. The artist was a
capable of producing dramatic and naturalistic skies. Here the horizon line and sky are less detailed to ensure the eye rests upon the action at the centre of
the painting. S. B. Kennedy, in his book on the artist, has written about the qualities in McKelvey’s work ‘the overall feeling of lightness, of fresh air and the
spontaneity of the moment, [these] are features which remained characteristic of McKelvey’s work throughout his career.’ (Kennedy, 9).
Marianne O’Kane Boal
Sam Hanna Bell, Ed., The Arts in Ulster, ‘Painting and Sculpture,’ by John Hewitt
S. B. Kennedy, Frank McKelvey – A Painter in His Time, Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 1993
Theo Snoddy, Dictionary of Irish Artists – Twentieth Century, Wolfhound Press, Dublin, 1996