Looking at the artworks gathered by an individual reveals much about their evolving taste; indeed, the activity of collecting art says something about their self-image. So it is with the portraits in Dublin's civic collection. As Dublin city archivist, Mary Clark, is ideally placed to explain how these portraits interact with their political contexts. While some portraits were lost over the centuries, whether by accident or design, Clark's volume reproduces the fifty-one that remain. Her coherent analysis of the collection, and of Dublin's changing fortunes, allows the reader to consider the portraits in a way that the sitters, and those who commissioned them, never did.
The collection provides a fascinating glimpse into the attitudes and aspirations of the day. Tensions between City Hall and Dublin Castle are depicted through the choice of subject, as are the economic, political and sectarian anxieties following the Act of Union and Catholic emancipation. It could be argued that there are two collections commissioned by very different corporate bodies. The Protestant and loyal city assembly governed until 1840 when municipal reform ushered in a new and more representative city council; its Catholic majority growing ever more nationalist. Thus, the election of Sir Abraham Bradley King, deputy grand master of the Orange Order, as lord mayor in 1812–13 and 1820–21, and commissioning of his portrait (pp 114–15), would have been impossible after 1841.
The thematic sections begin with royal and vice-regal portraits, followed by the largest section, dealing with portraits of lord mayors, aldermen and councillors. Miscellaneous portraits, and the small but interesting group of portrait statues, conclude the volume. Large format colour images of each portrait accompany a concise description, an account of its acquisition, the sitter's name, dates and period in office. The entries also list the artist, date of production and the painting's dimensions. Clark's extensive bibliography is a valuable resource for the art historian and the general researcher. Occasionally, the relationship between the illustrations and the text is not obvious, for example at pp 154–5 Charles Dawson's portrait faces the text for Thomas Sexton, fuller captions below each image may have resolved this. The appendices list portraits and engravings of mayors of Dublin not held by the city.
Clark's introduction and individual descriptions are full of interesting facts, such as the city's choice of a Huguenot artist, Peter Surville, to paint the portrait of the Catholic James II, or the departure to France in 1690 of the last Catholic lord mayor for over a century, who fled with the mayoral gold collar of SS (p. 23). William III presented the city with a replacement collar bearing his own image which has been worn by all lord mayors since (with the notable exception of Caitlín Bean Uí Chléirigh in 1939). In 1819 the assembly commissioned a copy of William's portrait as a mark of loyalty. Later fears that a Catholic majority on the municipal council would dispose of the painting proved unfounded as the city paid for its restoration in 1863 (pp 48–9).
Some viceregal entries bring Dublin street names to life, putting faces to names such as Harcourt, Westmoreland and Temple, but mayoral portraits predominate. The portrait of Sir Daniel Bellingham (1665–6), the first to be titled ‘lord’ mayor, set the pattern for many that followed. The gold collar of SS, civic sword, mace and mayoral robes appear in various combinations across the centuries. The sword and mace make their final appearance in the portrait of Lorcan Sherlock c.1912, but the Williamite collar remains a constant feature.
Few depictions of women appear. The domestic portrait of Anne Overend, wife of a mid-nineteenth century lord mayor, is something of a relief from the succession of worthy male burghers. Paintings of two female lord mayors, Catherine Byrne (1958–9) and Carmencita Hederman (1987–8), are stylistically similar to those of their male contemporaries. While Bean Uí Chléirigh, Dublin's first female lord mayor, does not appear in the collection, she left her mark by removing the portraits of William III and Victoria from the Mansion House in 1939, where they remain in storage due to political sensitivities.
The book also allows us to trace changes in taste. Timothy Harrington's portrait (1901–4) is the first truly modern work and, the subsequent paintings have a more diverse appeal. The final, vivid, mayoral portrait is of the republican socialist Tomás MacGiolla (1993–4), wearing King William's collar of SS and seated against a rich blue background. Its striking character reminds the viewer of how impressive many of the earlier paintings must have been to their own generations. Instead of producing a purely functional art catalogue, Dublin City Council deserve credit for publishing this handsome and informative analysis of the municipal collection. Usefully, it also reveals that nexus of art, money and power where politicians craft their reputation and legacy.
