Adams Important Irish Art 2nd December 2015 : You can Download a PDF Version from the Bottom Menu Down Arrow Icon

Pilgrim Approaching the Altar Site at Clonmacnoise

Watercolour, 74 x 57cm (29¼ x 22½)

Signed and inscibed with title on artist’s label verso

Alfred Fripp was born in Bristol and studied at the British Museum and Royal Academy School. He exhibited regularly with The Royal Watercolour Society

(where he was secretary from 1870 to 1895), at the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of British Artists, and had eight titles at Dublin’s Royal Hibernian Acad-

emy between 1844 and 1853. Frederick Goodall encouraged him to visit Ireland, and together with Francis William Topham and Mark Anthony they worked

together during several visits to Galway from 1844 onwards. Their focus on poor rural Irish culture has resulted in a unique legacy of related work. Fripp visited

Ireland between 1844-53. This work is thought to be one that he completed for an illustrated book on Clonmacnoise published in 1846. He also exhibited three

works of Clonmacnoise at The Society of Painters in Watercolour in 1851.

Clonmacnoise is one of Ireland’s most famous ancient monasteries founded by Saint Ciarán in the sixth century. It was where the nobility of Connaught had

their children educated and thus its name which translates “the secluded recess of the sons of Nobles’. For many centuries it was the favoured burial place of

Irish Kings and many believed right into the 19th Century that all persons interred there would pass immediately from Earth to Heaven. It was in fact a settle-

ment of some considerable size as reflected in the number of crosses, churches and towers still surviving. It was situated on an important site at a crossing of

the Shannon on the main East to West road and still impressive today especially if approached by boat.

€ 2,000 - 4,000