The
Dungarvan born artist settled in America but returned every year to paint
landscapes and portraits in locations in the West of Ireland. He also returned to his native County Waterford
and this etching is based on a sketch.
In 1939
he held a one man show in the Waterford Art Gallery and this image was probably
prepared for that exhibition. It is
still recognisable as the arch is still there joining the supermarket to
Dan McCarthy's shop.
The
etching was once in the collection of the great Irish/American collector Alfred
M Bender who loaned or donated it to the San Francisco Museum of Art.
Bender
was born in Dublin to German parents. In
1932 he donated hundreds of pieces of Asian art to the National Museum of
Ireland which the museum put on permanent display at Collins Barracks in 2008.