Nicholas Joseph Crowley, Portrait and Subject Painter
(b. 1819, d. 1857)
Portrait and Subject Painter
From A Dictionary of Irish Artists 1913
Nicholas Joseph Crowley. Painted by Himself; part of a figure in picture of "Faint Heart never won Fair Lady"; in possession of Mr. C. G. Donnelly, 46 Sandford Road, Bromley, Kent.
Was born in Dublin on 6th December, 1819, the third son of Peter Crowley, who died in 1835. In 1827 he was admitted as a pupil to the Dublin Society's School, and in 1832 became a student in the Royal Hibernian Academy. In the same year, being then aged thirteen, he exhibited a portrait. Next year he contributed six portraits, and his works continued to appear almost every year until his death. In 1835 and 1836 he was residing in Belfast, and there painted many portraits. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Hibernian Academy on 18th June, 1836, and a Member on 27th May, 1837. He was also one of the original members of the Association of Artists in Belfast on its foundation in 1836. In 1837 Crowley went to London and resided there, except for occasional visits to Dublin, for the rest of his life. He was at first at 17 King William Street, Strand, but finally, after one or two changes, he settl ed at 13 Upper Fitzroy Street. He had in 1835, while in Ireland, sent a picture, "The Eventful Consultation," to the Royal Academy; he now became a regular exhibitor and was successful in acquiring a good practice, not only as a painter of popular subject-pieces, but also of portraits, especially of groups in which he excelled. Crowley died in his house in Upper Fitzroy Street, London, on 4th November, 1857.
The following list embraces most of Crowley's known works:
Portrait of Himself. Exhibited at Belfast 111 1895, by James F. Johnson.
Charles Abbott, Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1825. Presented to the Corporation in 1866 by the Rev, Charles Abbott, vicar of Newcastle, County Wicklow; burned in the fire at the City Hall, 11th November, 1908.
Mrs. Aikenhead, foundress of the Sisters of Charity in Ireland. R.A., 1844.
Stewart Blacker. R.H.A., 1848.
Rev. William Bruce, of Belfast. R.H.A., 1835.
Duke of Cambridge. Woodcut by Smith, in "Illustrated London News."
Master Caulfield. R.H.A., 1837.
Madam Celeste-Elliott, as Marie Ducange. Lithographed by T. Fairland.
The Countess of Clarendon. R.A., 1850.
Hon. George Colley. Water-colour sketch, signed and dated 1856. [G. P. Colley, Faunagh, Orwell Road, Rathgar.]
William Croly, Archbishop of Armagh. R.H.A., 1836; sold by Littledale, Dublin, April, 1852.
George Augustus, 2nd Marquess of Donegal. [Countess of Shaftesbury.]
Anna, Marchioness of Donegal. [Countess of Shaftesbury.]
Anna, Marchioness of Donegal. [Belfast Harbour Commissioners.]
Miss Gore. R.A., 1850.
Dr. Henry, Armagh. R.H.A., 1845.
Mrs. Linklater and her two Sisters. R.A., 1850.
Children of S. R. McClean. R.A., 1850.
Major the Hon. J. Macdonald. R.A., 1850; R.H.A., 1851.
Nicholas Maher, M.P. R.H.A., 1845.
Mrs. Maher. R.A., 1846.
Mrs. Nicholas V. Maher. R.A., 1849.
The Hall at Turtulla, Co. Tipperary, the seat of N. V. Maher, M.P., with portraits of Mrs. Maher and others. R.H.A., 1846; Cork, 1852.
Charles Manly. R.A., 1847.
Henry Manning. R.H.A., 1853.
Mrs. John Mortimer. R.A., 1840.
C. H., 2nd Earl of Mulgrave, afterwards Marquess of Normanby. [Belfast Academical Institute.] R.H.A., 1837.
C.H., 2nd Earl of Mulgrave. Oil sketch. [National Gallery of Ireland.]
C. H., 2nd Earl of Mulgrave. Engraved in stipple by H. Robinson for Saunders's "Political Reformers," 1840.
Daniel Murray, Archbishop of Dublin. R.A., 1844.
Prince Napoleon Louis Bonaparte. R.A., 1840.
C. H., 1st Marquess of Normanby—see Mulgrave.
The Lawn at Anningley, with portraits of Hon. and Rev. James Norton, Mrs. Norton and children. R.A., 1852.
Children of Hon. James Norton. R.A., 1846.
Miss Gracy Norton. R.A., 1855.
Mrs. John O'Brien. R.A., 1844; R.H.A., 1845.
Daniel O'Connell. [The late Sir John Gray.] Painted during his imprisonment in Richmond Jail, 1844, for Dr. (afterwards Sir John) Gray. R.H.A., 1845.
Daniel O'Connell. [Major Maher, Ballinkeele.]
J. M. O'Ferrall, M.D. [St. Vincent's Hospital, Stephen's Green.] R.H.A., 1844.
S. Annesley O'Ferrall, of Gray's Inn. R.H.A., 1842.
Samuel Phelps, as Hamlet. [The Governors of the Shakespeare Memorial, Stratford-on-Avon.]
Miss Wemys Pope. R.H.A., 1849.
Tyrone Power, as Connor O'Gorman, in Mrs. Carter Hall's "The Groves of Blarney." Engraved by C. G. Lewis, 1845.
Miss Sharp. R.H.A., 1845.
Mrs. Shaw and two children. [Captain Conolly, Castletown.] R.A., 1851.
Richard Lalor Sheil.
Rev. John Spratt. R.H.A., 1858.
Rev. James Tennent. R.A., 1858.
Mrs. Tennent. R.A., 1858.
S. S. Thompson, M.D. R.H.A., 1835.
Master Edward Foster Vickers, son of Lt.-Col. Vickers. R.A., 1854.
Rt. Hon. Spencer Walpole. R.H.A., 1854.
Mrs. Ward. R.H.A., 1835.
Samuel Warren, author of "Diary of a late Physician," etc. R.H.A., 1837.
Benjamin Webster, as MacDonald in Talfourd's tragedy of "Glencoe." R.A., 1841.
Children of Benjamin Webster. R.A., 1839.
Wife and Child of Captain Williams, A.D.C. R.A. 1837. Mrs. H. Wood. R.H.A., 1851.
Taking the Veil; portraits of Archbishop Murray and Mrs. Aikenhead, foundress of the Sisters of Charity in Ireland, and Miss Jane Bellew being received as a nun. [St. Vincent's Hospital, Stephen's Green.] R.A., 1845; Dublin Ex., 1872.
The Eventful Consultation. R.A., 1835; the artist's first contribution.
Contemplation. Soc. B.A., 1836.
Lady in a Swiss Dress. R.A., 1836.
An Eastern Story-teller. R.A., 1838.
Battle of the Standard. R.H.A., 1837.
The Burial of the Conqueror. R.H.A., 1838.
The Coquette of the Olden Time. R.H.A., 1838.
A Gipsy Girl. R.H.A., 1838.
A Greek Girl. R.A., 1839.
A Listener too many. B.I., 1839.
Scene in Lincoln's Inn. R.H.A., 1840.
Sudden appearance of Richard Nugent, Bishop of Delvin, before James I. R.H.A., 1840.
A Discovery; two Strings to his Bow. R.H.A., 1840.
Baptism of St. Paul. Design for a Window for the Church of St. Nicholas, Francis Street. R.H.A., 1840.
The Wedding Ring. R.A., 1840.
What's his History? R.A., 1840.
Nothing Uncommon. R.A., 1840.
In Maiden Meditation. B.I., 1840.
A Brown Study. B.I., 1840.
Characters in Mrs. S. C. Hall's drama of "The Groves of Blarney," as represented by Tyrone Power. B.I., 1840.
The Unransomed. R.H.A., 1841.
Scene from "As You Like It." R.A., 1841.
The Crusader's Departure. R.A., 1842.
Love, or Faint Heart never won Fair Lady. [C. G. Donnelly, 46 Sandford Road, Bromley, Kent.] R.A., 1842; R.H.A., 1843. Purchased for £60 by the Royal Irish Art Union and won as a prize by Andrew S. Hart, f.t.c.d. The figures are portraits of the painter, his sister and sister-in-law.
Expectation. R.A., 1843.
The Reduced House,—"and so he went to seek his fortune." R.A., 1843; R.H.A., 1846.
Mourning. B.I., 1841.
The Banshee. B.I., 1841.
The Romantic Marriage. B.I., 1842.
Fortune-telling by Cup-tossing. [Miss Helen Grubb, Cahir.] B.I., 1843; R.H.A., 1844. Purchased by the Royal Irish Art Union and engraved for its members by C. W. Sharpe. Won as a prize by Mrs. R. Grubb, Cahir.
A Summer's Morn. B.I., 1844.
Mother and Child. B.I., 1845.
A Franciscan Friar. R.H.A., 1845.
Invitation, Hesitation and Persuasion, a group of Ladies, B.I., 1846; R.H.A., 1847. Purchased by the Royal Irish Art Union for £60, and won as a prize by W. Finn, Carlow. Was afterwards in possession of John Malcomson, Pembroke Road, Dublin, and was in his sale, 29th June, 1903.
The Caution. R.A., 1847.
The Desmond Bride. R.H.A., 1848; Cork, 1852.
The Eve of Battle. R.A., 1849.
The Double Theft. B.I., 1849.
Maternal Affection. R.H.A., 1850 and 1853.
The March. B.I., 1851.
Scene from "The Vicar of Wakefield." R.A., 1852.
The Young Nurse. B.I., 1852.
Train up a Child in the way he should go. R.H.A., 1852. "Unworthy of his reputation, and is only fit for a heading to a religious tract" ("Irish Quarterly Review.")
Rosalind and Celia. R.H.A., 1853.
Juliet. B.I., 1854.
Partant pour la Syrie. B.I., 1857.
The Stepping Stone. R.H.A., 1858.
Nature. R.A., 1858.
Childhood. [Mrs. Marcus Ward, Belfast.] 1888.
Ireland's Eyes. Lithographed by J. R. Dickson, 1853.
« Henry Crowley | Contents and Search | Peter Lawrence Crowley »