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Apr 3, 2015
Media: Oil
Size: 16x20 in
My wife and I have visited Ireland several times, and love the country and its people. We have come to understand that the country's history is both rich and tragic. Indeed, the Great Famine which began in 1845 was a human as well as agricultural disaster. The real culprits were the British who ruled Ireland at the time. While the Irish people were dying of starvation, England was exporting beef and other food products grown by Irish people on Irish soil to places like America and Canada, sharing none of it with the Irish. The British landlords drove the Irish from their cottages when the Irish could no longer pay the rent on the land.
Even today, when one travels across Ireland the remains of thousands of "famine cottages" can be seen dotting the otherwise beautiful landscape. All are roofless (note the rough illustration on one of the books in the painting), because British agents stove in the roofs to keep the occupants from returning to their homes. If those atrocities were occurring today, we would refer to them as terrorism and genocide. But Ireland has a rich history as well, and is populated with some of the world's most wonderful people. This painting is intended to represent both of those histories.
My wife and I have visited Ireland several times, and love the country and its people. We have come to understand that the country's history is both rich and tragic. Indeed, the Great Famine which began in 1845 was a human as well as agricultural disaster. The real culprits were the British who ruled Ireland at the time. While the Irish people were dying of starvation, England was exporting beef and other food products grown by Irish people on Irish soil to places like America and Canada, sharing none of it with the Irish. The British landlords drove the Irish from their cottages when the Irish could no longer pay the rent on the land.
Even today, when one travels across Ireland the remains of thousands of "famine cottages" can be seen dotting the otherwise beautiful landscape. All are roofless (note the rough illustration on one of the books in the painting), because British agents stove in the roofs to keep the occupants from returning to their homes. If those atrocities were occurring today, we would refer to them as terrorism and genocide. But Ireland has a rich history as well, and is populated with some of the world's most wonderful people. This painting is intended to represent both of those histories. |
Available Paintings by Bob Blackmon
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