Harry Kernoff RHA (1900-1974) FROM THE CUSTOM HOUSE STEPS, DUBLIN, 1933watercoloursigned and dated

Harry Kernoff RHA (1900-1974) FROM THE CUSTOM HOUSE STEPS, DUBLIN, 1933

watercolour

signed and dated lower left

L

11 by 15.25in., 27.5 by 38.125cm.

Purchased at a Harry Kernoff` exhibition in Dublin c.1940-1950 by a friend of the artist;Adam`s, 23 March 2005, lot 35;Private collection

`Harry Kernoff (1900-1974) 30th Anniversary Exhibition`, Gallery 4, Dublin, January – February, 2005

O`Connor, Kevin, Harry Kernoff, The Little Genius, The Liffey Press, Dublin, 2012 (full colour illustration, captioned watercolour of Custom House Dock, viewed by the ancient Mariner from the North Quay")"

A signed copy of Harry Kernoff, The Little Genius by Kevin O`Connor accompanies this lot.This topographical watercolour records working life on the Dublin Quays eighty years ago and highlights the dramatic changes to this stretch of Dublin`s cityscape since the 1930s. The most familiar surviving element is Tara Street railway station seen to the far right where a steam train approaches the bridge to cross the Liffey. The haphazard Dutch gabled dwellings seen on Burgh Quay (now the Ulster Bank offices) house a hive of activity while their decorated windows with flags, including a tricolour and county colours, suggest a festival or sporting event. A hairdressing salon is recorded at the street corner with plenty of pedestrian traffic out front. A horse drawn cart brings its load to the edge of the dock where a ship is berthed ready for loading. The scene is observed from the north side of the Liffey on Custom House Quay by the artist and two prominent figures in the foreground, an aging stevedore to the right and a eager-looking youth to the left.