CAG.0515 Jennie Ashton Hackett, Lilac and Laburnum – Portrait of Mabel Arnott, c.1898, oil on canvas, 112 x 85 cm. Presented, 1994.

WORK OF THE WEEK!

Lilac and Laburnum – Portrait of Mabel Arnott (c.1898) is a rare example of a painting by the Cork artist Jennie Ashton Hackett.

This late-Victorian portrait depicts the young Mabel Arnott, perhaps at her family home or the artist’s studio, seated on a leopard skin and holding the flowers of the title. The artist describes the textures of foliage, dress, and furnishings with relish.

Mary Louisa Mabel Arnott (1886-1982) was born at Woodlands, Montenotte. She was the daughter of Emily Jane Fitzgerald (1854-1938) and Sir John Arnott (1814-1898), founder of Arnott’s department store, one-time owner of The Irish Times, and Lord Mayor of Cork (1859-61). In 1915, Mabel married Captain Sir Francis Hugh Brooke, with whom she had two children.

Although her age in this portrait is uncertain, it was likely made around the time of her father’s death. The flowers of the title, and included in the painting, refer to loss – lilac being symbolic of mourning and remembrance, while laburnum flowers at the same time.

Jennie Ashton Hackett (fl.1864-1909) lived at 38 St Patrick’s Street where she also had her studio. Located next to Cork’s then popular Munster Arcade, it had previously functioned as the warehouse and shop of (her father?) William Ashton Hackett’s fishing tackle and sporting equipment firm. Although a painter of landscapes and portraits, it is not recorded if she attended the School of Art or studied under other artists. Her earliest known work, possibly made when still a teenager, is of a market day in Macroom and she also painted at least one view of Ballycotton. Little else is known about this artist.

Lilac and Laburnum – Portrait of Mabel Arnott (c.1898) by Jennie Ashton Hackett is featured in ALL EYES ON US until 24 March.

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