.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
William Willes was born in Cork, the son of an apothecary. Following his father he initially studied medicine, but also took lessons in drawing from Nathanial Grogan. It was not until his mid-thirties that Willes turned to painting as a profession and enrolled at the Royal Academy School in London. He was later to exhibit at the Royal Academy, the British Institution, and the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin. As was then the case with many Irish artists, Willes spent much of his career in London, although he did return to Cork occasionally for the sake of his health. Twenty one of his drawings were engraved for Hall's Ireland, which also included works by William Henry Bartlett, Thomas Creswick and Andrew Nicholl. Shortly before his death he was appointed the first master of the newly founded School of Design in Cork where he was remembered as 'a pleasant colourist and good draughtsman'. The school owed much of its success to his 'zeal and indefatigable labours, and to the enthusiasm he inspired in his pupils.'
This rare example of Willes's work, a recent rediscovery, is the artist's last major picture, and is considered his masterpiece. Completed in either 1849 or 1850, shortly before his death, it was posthumously exhibited at the National Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products, Cork, in 1852. 1848 and 1849 saw the worst years of famine in Ireland and Mock Funerals (also known as American Wakes) were held to mourn the emigration of locals to the United States, Canada, Australia and England. In the present work, the villagers' imminent departure is emphasised by the young boy holding a telescope in the centre of the composition. The inclusion of a French flag (lower left) suggests that Willes might have intended to convey a political message. The February Revolution of 1848 had seen the establishment of the Second Republic in France, and France was the country to which James Stephans had fled in that year. With poverty and famine widespread in Ireland, republican feeling was rising.
This rare example of Willes's work, a recent rediscovery, is the artist's last major picture, and is considered his masterpiece. Completed in either 1849 or 1850, shortly before his death, it was posthumously exhibited at the National Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products, Cork, in 1852. 1848 and 1849 saw the worst years of famine in Ireland and Mock Funerals (also known as American Wakes) were held to mourn the emigration of locals to the United States, Canada, Australia and England. In the present work, the villagers' imminent departure is emphasised by the young boy holding a telescope in the centre of the composition. The inclusion of a French flag (lower left) suggests that Willes might have intended to convey a political message. The February Revolution of 1848 had seen the establishment of the Second Republic in France, and France was the country to which James Stephans had fled in that year. With poverty and famine widespread in Ireland, republican feeling was rising.