This painting was conserved by Justin Laffan in 2021.

Significance
Sailing Vessels in Cork Harbour (c.1862) was presented to the Collection in 2021 by the Society of African Missions.

Although smaller than his usual output, this maritime painting by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson is typical of the Cork artist’s style and subject matter. Indeed, it bears very close resemblance to his larger Naval Squadron in Cork Harbour (1862) and suggests that he repeated compositions in his work.

In all, there are eleven vessels depicted in the painting, the most prominent of which are a small fishing boat (right) and two-decker warship (centre). The latter wears the ‘White Ensign’, a flag denoting that it is a British Royal Navy ship. In the middle background, a French schooner sails past Roche’s Point Lighthouse (left) while a ship of the line (naval warship) flies signal flags. The faint silhouettes of other sailing vessels can be discerned on the horizon.

'The Port of Cork Collection' - Crawford Art Gallery - Cork, Ireland - 2022 / Photograph: Jed Niezgoda - www.jedniezgoda.com

George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson(1806-1884) was a self-taught painter who hailed from Cove (Cobh), County Cork. Initially an apprentice ship’s carpenter, he later returned to land and became Government Surveyor of Shipping and Emigration. His prolific output documents the vessels that frequented or visited Cork Harbour in the mid-to-late nineteenth century.

In total, Crawford Art Gallery holds seventeen works by Atkinson in the Collection, perhaps the largest public repository of his work. Works by his son, Richard Peterson Atkinson (1856-1882), and daughter, Sarah Atkinson Dobbs (fl.1880-1915), are also in the Collection.

Assessment
On assessment, this painting was considered to be in of repair and cleaning to ensure it was in display condition.

It was noted that damage to the canvas had been repaired in the past by infilling with gesso (plaster) and retouching. A (presumably) later cleaning attempt had removed the surface layer of retouched paint and exposed the gesso.

The varnish was also discoloured and there was badly colour-matched overpainting on the sky area.

Treatment
The surface was minimally cleaned to avoid further removal of paint. The gesso areas were also levelled before the damage was retouched carefully in colour-matched watercolour.

The result of this intervention is that the painting now glows with new vitality, revealing the artist’s rich colour palette and brushwork. It gives us great pleasure to have been entrusted with this painting’s care and is now conserved so that, into the future, it may be enjoyed and studied.

CAG.3185 George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson, Sailing Vessels in Cork Harbour, c.1862, oil on canvas, Presented, Society of African Missions, 2021.

Display
Sailing Vessels in Cork Harbour has since been displayed alongside The Port of Cork Collection and, most recently, in BEHIND THE SCENES: Collection at Work (26 November 2022 – 10 April 2023) in which this conservation work was highlighted.

'The Port of Cork Collection' - Crawford Art Gallery - Cork, Ireland - 2022 / Photograph: Jed Niezgoda - www.jedniezgoda.com

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