Cork riddle in spotlight

Grogan and Butts debate is the focus of Crawford exhibition, says Des O’Sullivan

View of Cork, 1780, was painted by either Nathaniel Grogan or John Butts. It is on display at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork.

AN exhibition at the Crawford Gallery sets out to solve some art history mysteries about Cork in the 18th century.

A Question of Attribution: The Arcadian Landscapes of Nathaniel Grogan and John Butts runs until April 7. Grogan was a pupil of Butts and their paintings are similar in style. Both artists lived a precarious existence whilst recording fascinating aspects of Cork life.

In 2005, one of the most important paintings in the gallery, the View of Cork, for many years thought to be by Grogan, was re-attributed to Butts. There is still debate about who painted this panoramic view of the city around 1750. Works previously assumed to be by George Barret and Thomas Roberts are now thought to be by Butts.

The Crawford, which has recently acquired Grogan’s View of Sullivan’s Paper Mills at Dripsey is presenting some of Grogan’s best-known paintings and comparing them to known works by Butts.

A centrepiece will be Grogan’s Boats on the River Lee below Tivoli, which will be re-united for the first time in over a century with its four companion pieces.