Mervyn Lawrence (b 1868 - Circa 1938) ''Erina'' Plaster bust, 69cm high This piece was modeled by Mervyn Lawrence circa 1904 and is one of a number cast in plaster,bronzed,painted and also cast...

Mervyn Lawrence (b 1868 - Circa 1938) ''Erina'' Plaster bust, 69cm high This piece was modeled by Mervyn Lawrence circa 1904 and is one of a number cast in plaster,bronzed,painted and also cast in bronze. The original plaster version was exhibited at the 3rd Arts and Crafts Society of Ireland Exhibition in 1904. The Earl of Mayo had a bronze version which was included in the 1907 Arts and Crafts Society of Ireland Exhibition ''On loan'' from him.''Erina'' - an 'Irish Girl' was a synthetic personification of young Ireland. This piece is one of several created by Lawrence for the 'Irish Art Companions' which was described as a guild 'for the improvement and the revivifying of Irish art' . It was run by Mr Gatty,an ardent Gaelic Leaguer who was devoted to developing Irish industries. He worked out of adjoining 18th Century houses 27 & 28 Clare Street, in Dublin. It is thought that Lady Fingal also had a version of this piece which she describes thus ''Hugh Lane put a bust of Erin which he got from Charles Gatty in place of honour - quite in keeping with our lives''. Another plaster version is in the collection of The National Museum of Ireland. Mervyn Lawrence was the son of well known Dublin Merchant W.M. Lawrence JP. He studied at the Dublin School of Art where he met fellow sculptor John Hughes. Oliver Sheppard is recorded to have done a plaster relief study of him while they were both studying under the eminent French Professor of Sculpture Edward Lanteri at South Kensington. After a time studying in Paris, Lawrence spent most of the rest of his life teaching, including the Westminster School of Art. He exhibited extensively throughout the U.K. as well as in Ireland. Despite a search of the general Register Office in London Theo Snoddy could find no record of his death. Nicola Gordon Bowe deserves our thanks for her many years of pioneering research on the Irish Arts and Crafts movement which formed much of the reference sources for this catalogue entry.

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