Offaly art dealer 'thrilled' as he finds hugely significant painting

An important picture which was rediscovered by Irish fine art dealer and journalist, James Gibbons, from Clara, has been purchased by the State.

The picture is Sarah Purser’s portrait of the mother of Sir Arthur Vicars which once formed part of the collection of Sir Arthur and hung in Kilmorna House in Kerry.

Sir Arthur instructed his valet to save the family portraits by throwing them out of the window just before the old IRA shot him dead and burned down Kilmorna.

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“This picture has been hovering under the radar for years and is of museum quality,” explains James Gibbons who recognised the work at first sight. “Dr John O’Grady, the former UCD lecturer, who compiled the catalogue raisoneé on Purser was invited to attend a meeting at a private gallery in Dublin where I had sent the picture for some initial restoration. I was thrilled when the former history of art lecturer confirmed that not only was it Purser, but it was Purser at her best.’

“I’ve always had a keen interest in Kerry ever since Bernard McNamara asked me to research the history of the Parknasilla Hotel,” he says. “I enjoyed helping to promote the hotel with Jasmine Guinness who was brand ambassador for the Parknasilla Hotel Goffs Millions.”

Purser was a painter, portraitist - often commissioned to paint posthumous portraits – art activist and stained glass artist. The picture hung in Clara for a period before contracts were signed between the State and Mr Gibbons, who originally trained with the prestigious fine art auction house, Adams on Stephen’s Green. “The late Maurice Greene from Corkhill in Clara also trained in Adams many years ago,” Gibbons confirms. “The late Knight of Glin was Christie’s representative in Ireland and he introduced me to the director of the Hunt Museum, Ciaran MacGonigal, who recommended to Brian Coyle, the chairman of Adam’s that I be taken on and trained. I’d been to universities and had some of the theory which is all well and good but I needed to handle blue chip pictures and furniture and soon I was handling extremely important works of art and cataloguing marvellous Irish furniture.”

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Sir Arthur Vicars held the ceremonial role of keeper of the Irish crown jewels in Dublin Castle which were stolen on the eve of the visit to Ireland by King Edward VII in 1907. Sir Arthur also kept his mother’s jewels in Dublin Castle for safe keeping and they were also stolen in the jewellery heist. Posters were distributed by the Dublin Metropolitan Police offering a reward of £1,000 for information leading to the recovery of the jewels and a full description of Mrs Vicars’ jewellery appeared on the posters beside a detailed description of the crown jewels.

After his dismissal Sir Arthur eventually settled in Kilmorna House in Kerry. His mother had been married previously to Pierce Mahony of Kilmorna House and one of Sir Arthur’s half-brother’s who styled himself as ‘The O’Mahony of Kerry’ was also painted by Purser. During the War of Independence Sir Arthur was accused of being too friendly with the British troops and was shot dead following a raid on his house by the IRA.

Mr Gibbons went on to work as assistant curator with Ib Jorgensen in his art gallery on Molesworth St and then assisted the late Matty Ryan, Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers’ representative in Ireland. “One never knew who was on the other end of the telephone in Matty’s since he knew lots of royals on a couple of continents. The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret were friends of his, but had passed away by the time I started to assist him sourcing pictures and furniture in Ireland for Bonhams, however Princess Michael of Kent was still a great friend of his,” Gibbons says. “Matty was also an ami de la maison of the top racehorse owners and trainers in Ireland and the UK and he knew instinctively that everyone was the same and never kept people in compartments, introducing one layer of his friends with another and expected his old friends – royalty included - to budge up and make room at his famous dinner parties in Thurles. At heart, Matty was a diamond expert and often mentioned Sir Arthur and the disappearance of the crown jewels and we often wondered what happened to them. In this particular portrait Mrs Vicars is wearing a ring, presumably one of the pieces of jewellery that was stolen.”

Gibbons recalls another of Purser’s famous historical works, a double portrait of Constance and Eva Gore Booth purchased by the Naughtons at the Lisadell Sale in 2003 conducted by Christie’s.

He added that “Mr and Mrs Naughton ensured that after the picture was restored it went on public view in the Merrion Hotel and it has hung in the hotel for the past number of years and I have no doubt that the State will restore this picture to an equally high standard.”