ADAM'S IMPORTANT IRISH ART 24th September 2025

56 33 JOSHUA CLARKE & SONS Dante & Beatrice (c.1910) A pair, stained glass panels, 133 x 23cm (52¼ x 9’’) Provenance: Sale, these rooms where purchased by the current owner, 1984. € 4,000 - 6,000 Joshua Clarke, father of one of Ireland’s foremost artists Harry Clarke, moved to Dublin from Leeds in 1877, and in 1886 he set up his own church decorating business at 33 North Freder- ick Street. Clarke was an entrepreneur, always looking for new opportunities to improve his business and in 1892 he added stained glass to the list of products he provided. Circa 1904 he took on the draughtsman and stained glass artist William Nagle, a Dublin man, who had been a student at the Hibernian Academy Schools, to work on his glass commissions. Thus, the firm of Joshua Clarke and Sons became established as a stained glass and church furnishings provider, working throughout Ireland, and also doing some work in England. In addition to his role as chief artist, Nagle was also Harry’s first teacher in the craft of making stained glass. Although the majority of Joshua Clarke’s stained glass work was destined for church buildings, the company also made door panels for private homes and business premises, such as hotels, public houses, cinemas, banks and libraries. The two panels in this lot were designed to be installed at the entrance to a building, on each side of the doorway. They depict Dante and Beatrice, a popular subject in art, especially in the Pre-Raphaelite era. Although they first met as children, Beatrice made a lifelong impression on Dante and she became a recurring character in his writings, particularly in The Divine Comedy and Inferno . Their relationship became a legend- ary love story, but one of unrequited love as each married different people and, sadly, Beatrice died in her twenties. The figures hold symbols associated with the arts, Dante with a scroll indicating literature, and Beatrice holding artist’s brushes indicating painting. This unusual inclusion of brushes with an image of Beatrice is perhaps a clue to the original location of the panels. In her celebrated biog- raphy of Harry Clarke, art historian Nicola Gordon Bowe describes two remarkable stained glass panels made by William Nagle which portrayed Dante and Beatrice. [1] The panels, which were located either side of the front door of the North Frederick Street building, greeted visitors to the premises. Gordon Bowe describes how they demonstrated Nagle’s ability and invention when working with decorative glazing. On entering the building you could be in no doubt that you were entering an artist’s studio. This lot could be the original panels, or they may be copies, made for a private client. Dr. Paul Donnelly, August 2025 [1] Nicola Gordon Bowe, Harry Clarke: The Life and Work (Dublin: The History Press Ireland, 2012) p.38.