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A Distinguished Ulster Collection
122 JOHN HENRY CAMPBELL (1757-1828)Harbour of Howth, and the Arrival of His Majesty George IV:
4th-12th August 1821
Watercolour, 20.5 x 28cm
Signed
Provenance: The Bell Gallery, Belfast; Cynthia O’Connor Gallery, Dublin March 1977
Literature: Prof. V.J. McBrierty, ‘The Howth Penninsula’, 1981, illustrated p.75
€ 1,000 - 1,500
The recently crowned King of England arrived inebriated, in Howth, August 12th 1821, his 59th birthday, which he had celebrated liberally,
having been delayed by bad weather. His distribution of beer and apparent support of Catholic Emancipation ensured a rapturous recep-
tion in decaying post-union Dublin. His footprints, cut into the old stone quay of Howth are still there. Unlamented when he died, he had
become an obese reactionary and he is today mainly remembered for his extravagant and flashy taste which crammed the Royal palaces
of England with over-restored French furniture of the ancient-régime.