James Mahony or Mahoney (1810–1879) was a leading nineteenth century Irish artist and engraver. His father was a

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in ...

in Cork, Ireland, and little is known of his early life. He seems to have studied painting and drawing in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, travelling in Italy and France until aged 32 when he returned to Cork. He quickly became known for his

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

paintings, with townscapes from Rome,

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, and Rouen. His work included "highly romantic" engravings of scenes from Irish life, such as of the Great Irish Famine and of

St Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

, the national day of Ireland. His famine sketches, drawn on the spot in

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The name "Skibbereen" (sometimes shortened to "Skibb") means "little boat harbour". The River Ilen runs through the town; it reac ...

and

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is located at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population as of 2016 was 4,592. Th ...

West Cork West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownber ...

, commissioned by and published in the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

'', roused public opinion to persuade the British government to take action to alleviate the famine. In 1853, he painted a major work, ''The Visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to the Fine Art Hall of the Irish Industrial Exhibition'', at the Irish Industrial Exhibition in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. In 1856 he was made an associate of the Royal Hibernian Academy (ARHA), where he exhibited until he moved to London. He exhibited watercolours there at the Royal Academy between 1866 and 1877, working as a freelance illustrator for the ''Illustrated London News''. He prepared illustrations, too, for other journals, newspapers and books including an edition of the works of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

. He died in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahony, James 1810 births 1879 deaths Irish artists Irish engravers