Rose Barton, R.W.S.

Christie's, London, 22 May 1998, lot 5;
Chris Beetles, London;
Private collection

London, Chris Beetles, Summer Show, 1999, no.34

The sheet appears to be sound and not laid down, cockles slightly. A few light surface nicks in upper right corner, only visible upon close inspection; the work appears in good condition overall. Held under glass in a simple gilt frame with a cream mount; unexamined out of frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Rotunda Rooms, Dublin exemplifies the atmospheric qualities that typified Rose Barton's watercolours and established her reputation. Throughout her career it was to the tonal, grey-weathered days of Dublin or London that Barton frequently turned, which she evoked by using the transient qualities of watercolour to full effect. In the misty half-light of the present work and the dabs of light and wet reflections in the street, the cold and damp of a Dublin day is almost tangible. 

Barton was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Watercolour Society in Ireland, and one of a small number of educated, upper-class women able to devote her talents to painting, which was gradually becoming a socially acceptable practice. She also worked and exhibited in London and two of her pictures were included in Hugh Lane's Irish Art exhibition in 1904 at Guildhall, London. Her reputation was also raised through her published illustrations of London and Dublin, including Frances Gerard's Picturesque Dublin Old and New (1898). In this publication however, painted two years before the present work, the Rotunda Rooms are represented with an eighteenth-century engraving. Perhaps it was this omission that encouraged Barton to make the present watercolour.

The Rotunda Room was built to adjoin the Lying-in Hospital in Parnell Square, founded by Dr Bartholomew Mosse as a charitable establishment to care for expectant mothers. It was Mosse's idea to create assembly rooms and pleasure gardens alongside it, from which profits could be generated to support the hospital's work. The Rotunda was eighty-feet in diameter and completed in 1764 to the design of John Ensor. It was gradually added to, including the Pillar Room in 1784, which in its day was one of the finest ballrooms in Britain and Ireland. Today the building is known as the Rotunda Hospital and remains one of Ireland's largest maternity units.