Cork’s merchant pride is revived
William Laffan celebrates the return to Cork of two historic collections, a triumph for Ireland’s tax credit scheme.
William Laffan, Monday, 25th August 2008
Among the highlights of the newly unveiled rooms is a fine group portrait of the family by Robert Hunter (Fig. 2), and portraits by Thomas Pope-Stevens and Martin Archer Shee. An exquisite pair of chalk drawings of Cooper and Elizabeth in the gardens at Woodhill by Charles Forrest is a rare survival of a delicate art form which was something of a specialty of Irish artists (Fig. 3). Furniture, books and ceramics from Woodhill contextualise the paintings, in an elegantly spare display. Woodhill itself suffered a prolonged period of neglect and decay. Stripped of its fittings and fireplaces, it was demolished in the 1980s.
In contrast, Fota, a fine regency house designed by Richard Morrison, just a few miles outside the city, is enjoying a remarkable renaissance under the auspices of the Irish Heritage Trust. Soon it will be home, once again, to an equally noteworthy collection, if one of more recent vintage, that formed by Richard Wood. The Irish Heritage Trust was set up in 2006 with a mandate to take historic properties into ownership and secure their future in perpetuity. It is an independent charity, although encouraged, and in part funded, by government, and is chaired by Sir David Davies, himself a notable collector. Fota was the first property of which the Trust took ownership, and it is understood that negotiations are at an advanced stage for other properties in Cork and elsewhere across Ireland.
Long acknowledged as among the finest in private hands, the Wood Collection had been on display in Fota before its removal to the University of Limerick. After a period of protracted litigation, Wood was obliged to sell his collection. It was purchased by the McCarthy family with the specific intention of returning the paintings to the Trust for presentation to Fota under the clause of the Finance Act that saw the Penrose collection return to Cork.
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