JAMES HUMBERT CRAIG RHA RUA (1877 - 1944)

Title: Gholla Bristha in the Rosses, County Donegal Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Left Provenance: John Magee, Belfast (Label Verso); Combridge Fine Arts, Dublin (Label Verso); The Collection of Henry Lee Shattuck, Massachusetts C. 1938; On Loan to the Musuem of Fine Arts, Boston; The Family of Henry Lee Shattuck, North Shore, Massachusetts; Bonhams Skinner - American and European Works of Art, Boston, 26 September, 2013, Lot No. 686; Whyte's - Irish and International Art, 26 September 2022, Lot No. 12; Private Collection Framed A cloud-filled sky dominates this classic view, by James Humbert Craig, of a landscape in county Donegal. The painting bears an original label, identifying the scene as Gholla Bristha, in the Rosses, County Donegal. An area of great natural beauty on the Donegal coast, “The Rosses” are west of Glenveigh National Park. The coastline in the area is heavily indented, with many islands, the largest being Arranmore. Craig depicts the landscape, where coastline, farmland and island combine, on a bright day where sunlight and rain showers follow in quick succession. Although the foreground, a rocky coastline, is in shadow, sunlight illuminates a colourful patchwork of fields in the middle distance. There is also, beyond the fields, a glimpse of sea. In the distance can be seen the blue mountains of Arranmore. Craig often worked in the area, captivated by the natural beauty of mountains and farmland. A painting by him, entitled Tholla Bristha and depicting a similar scene, is in the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork. Born in Belfast in 1877, James Humbert Craig was taught painting by his mother Marie Sabine Metzenen (1854-1927), who came from Lausanne in Switzerland. After working for a time in his father Alexander’s tea importing business, Craig studied at the Belfast School of Art. He was largely a self-taught artist, specialising in depicting landscapes of Donegal, Galway, Mayo, and also the Glens of Antrim, around Cushendun. In 1915 he began showing his work at the RHA, and in 1928 was elected a full member. He also exhibited with the Fine Art Society in London and was a member of the RUA. Craig had little interest in Modernist innovations, and remained a solidly Realist painter—albeit with more than a touch of Impressionism in his atmospheric rendering of landscapes. A memorial exhibition of his work was held at the Belfast Museum in 1945, a year after his death. Dr. Peter Murray, August 2025 Image: 44 x 59 cm. Framed: 70.5 x 86 cm. PICTURES AND PRINTS Tuesday 16th September 2025 21:04:10 Biography JAMES HUMBERT CRAIG RHA RUA (1877 - 1944) Born in Belfast in 1877, James Humbert Craig became one of Ireland’s best-known landscape painters. Although he enrolled at the Belfast School of Art, he left before completing his first term, developing instead as a largely self-taught artist. His love of the outdoors drew him to paint the rugged scenery of Antrim, Donegal, and Connemara—places that became central to his work. A brief attempt to settle in the United States ended with his return to County Down, where he resumed painting. Craig’s debut at the Royal Hibernian Academy came in 1915, and he continued to show there until his death. He was elected to both the Royal Ulster Academy and the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1928, and also exhibited with the Fine Arts Society in London, the Belfast Art Society, and the Magee Gallery. A respected member of the Ulster Academy of Arts, Craig worked by the principle of “never trying to improve on nature,” a philosophy evident in his paintings. Following his death in 1944, a memorial exhibition was held at the Belfast Museum and Art Gallery the following year, with further retrospectives at the Oriel Gallery, Dublin (1978), and the Ulster Museum (2000). 46-7926