Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) The 'Ballyedward' at Carrickfergus Castle Oil on canvas, 43 x 59cm (17 x 23.25) Signed McKelvey organises his compositions with regularity but also allows the...

Frank McKelvey RHA RUA (1895-1974) The 'Ballyedward' at Carrickfergus Castle Oil on canvas, 43 x 59cm (17 x 23.25) Signed McKelvey organises his compositions with regularity but also allows the subject its narrative space. The foreground is generally mid tones, it contrasts with the sunlit middle ground of the composition and is finally complemented by the grey almost translucent quality of the background. He employs this characteristic layering that is effective and appealing. Brushstrokes are evident but soft, controlled and carefully placed. This painting depicting the 'Ballyedward' entering the harbour at Carrickfergus sees a somewhat darker palette than McKelvey typically employs. It is an atmospheric composition where the careful rendering of the motorship on the middle right is balanced by an intimate, and slightly looser depiction of Carrickfergus Castle and harbour walls on the middle left. On the funnel, the blue, white and red stripes and letter 'K' are visible to denote the company name. The Ballyedward of 552 tons was built in Faversham in 1950, and owned by John Kelly Ltd 1953-1970, It was subsequently sold to Zodiac Shipping Co., and eventually scrapped in 1974. Although ship portraiture was primarily practised a century earlier, there are affinities with this branch of maritime and the commissioned paintings of the Kelly Boats. This practise saw the artist commissioned to execute a painting of a given ship, recording it on passage and providing a technically accurate representation of the vessel. These works, however, by artists such as Joseph Semple, tended to be more limited in the depiction of the boat in profile at sea with little surrounding detail. Marianne O'Kane Boal, May 2012

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