CHATSWORTH FINE ART SALE April 29th, 30th & May 1st 2026

80 IMPERFECTIONS NOT STATED Fonsie Mealy’s Est. 1934 “Fisherman and other figures by a River”O.O.C., 48cms x 60cms (19” x 23 ½”). (1) Under lofty skies, with a faint haze of golden sunshine illuminating the scene, figures gather at the edge of a river, or lake. In the left foreground, a woman and a man are in conversation, while beside them, a fisherman works a fishing net suspended from a long pole. It was customary in Ireland to lower baited nets into rivers, and raise them the following day, to catch eels. The net in this painting appears to contain a single large eel. On the right, a man approaches out of the woods. Wearing a red coat and white apron, he leads a pack animal. In the far distance, a woman and a child can be seen, and behind them are two conical haystacks. The main subject matter of this painting however are the magnificent trees close to the river. Cloaked in ivy, the tree on the right foreground is dead, its branches bare. Behind it, several mature trees are in full leaf. In spite of the details such as the haystacks and fishing net, which are evidently drawn from life, the scene is likely an imagined view—a lá Claude Lorrain or Vernet—rather than a depiction of an actual landscape, and is reminiscent of the work of John Butts and Nathaniel Grogan. The inclusion of idiosyncratic rural details suggests that George Mullins may well be the artist. In terms of composition, this work relates to a recently re-discovered Mullins, sold at Sheppards in January, 2026, and also to a river landscape sold at Sothebys in November, 2020. One of the finest of these idealised views by Mullins is his 1772 Fishing Party, in the Ashmolean Museum.
In spite of the high quality of his work, biographical details of George Mullins are scant. Around 1756 he was a student of James Mannin at the Dublin Society Schools. Later, in 1763 and 1768, he was awarded prizes by the Dublin Society. Moving to Waterford, Mullins then worked as a decorative painter for the merchant Thomas Wyse, whose factory at St. John’s in the city produced japanned, or lacquered, trays, tea-caddies and snuff- boxes. Returning to Dublin, he married a woman who ran a tavern in Temple Bar called the Horseshoe and Magpie. Also known as the Pigeon and Pattern, it was a gathering place for artists and theatre people, later described by Joseph Boucher as a ‘celebrated temple of nocturnal entertainment and festivity’. The Dublin Society artists were a closely-knit group: Mullins’s wife’s sister married Hugh Douglas Hamilton (also a pupil of Mannin), while the artists Robert Healy and Thomas Roberts lodged at the Horseshoe and Magpie, with Roberts serving his apprenticeship with Mullins. Giving the tavern as his address, Mullins first exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1765, and over the next four years continued to send works to exhibitions at the City Assembly House. In addition to views of Lough Erne and Leixlip, he took subjects from the Old Testament. In 1758 he painted four large canvases, depicting morning, noon, evening and night, for Lord Charlemont’s country house at Marino. In 1770 Mullins moved to London, and that same year showed View from the temple at Marino at the Royal Academy. He lived for a time with Robert Carver, while continuing to show at the RA over the next four years, his work being admired by Horace Walpole. He also worked on a decorative painting for Chirk Castle in North Wales. In 1772 his painting of a Spaniel dog was published as a mezzotint, with Mullins himself having worked on the plate. Although Mullins was an influential artist in eighteenth-century Ireland, known works by him are rare. Peter Murray 2026 €5,000 - €6,000 792. Attributed to George Mullins (1740 - 1775)