Adam's IMPORTANT IRISH ART 26 MARCH 2025

30 16 FRANK MCKELVEY RHA RUA (1895 - 1974) By The Water Pump Oil on canvas, 50.5 x 68.5cm (20 x 27”) Signed € 20,000 - 30,000 Reflecting on this work, one cannot help thinking of the line from Seamus Heaney’s poem Mossbawn: Two Poems in Dedication, Sunlight (North, 1975) written for his aunt Mary and about the family farmhouse of his childhood in Castledawson, Northern Ireland. He writes ‘The helmeted pump in the yard / heated its iron, / water honeyed / in the slung bucket’. The water pump in this work after which it takes its name, sits in shade, the morning sun slowly moving across it. Though this work was painted many years before Heaney’s poem, there is an affinity between the worlds described in the simplicity, the stillness and almost sacred quality of performing everyday tasks. McKelvey, a fellow Northern Irishman, often depicted two specific locations in his paintings, the Maze in Co. Down and Bessbrook, Co. Armagh. Though born and raised in Belfast it is clear that he had a very strong affinity for rural life and for depicting the rituals that marked its days. Here in this work, we are presented with an older woman and child, presumably grandmother and grand- daughter, as they stand observing the chickens peck at the seed scattered on the ground. It is a very peaceful work, with the action all taking place amongst the white and brown poultry making busy work of their morning meal. Keenly observed by McKelvey, some stand patiently waiting, while others stoop and the lucky few eat. The figures, representing two generations of a family, mirror each other, both with a hand resting across their waists, both wearing white cloth aprons, the older woman wrapped around her waist, the child wearing it as smock. The cottage behind is a simple stone structure, the kitchen half-door visible in the background. McKelvey’s skill as a painter is evident in the masterful handling of light throughout the composition. It falls through leaves of a tree not visible to us, bathing the figures in dappled sunshine. The water pump and chickens are cast in shade, while it reflects brightly against the white stone of the cottage wall. He uses quick brushstrokes applied in varying directions to capture the rich texture of the shadows and further heighten the intensity of the light in the scene. Niamh Corcoran, March 2025