Jonathan Fisher (fl. 1763 - d. 1809)

View from Belvoir House, Cave Hill and Belfast Lough beyond; View of Belvoir House and the Church of Knockbreda, figures on the River Lagan in the Foreground; View of Belvoir House looking towards Belfast and the Lough, Carrickfergus beyond; and View of Belvoir House, Figures boating on the lake in the foreground

Commissioned by Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon and thence by family descent

Dublin, Society of Artists in Ireland, 1767, nos 31-34

A. Crookshank and the Knight of Glin, Ireland's Painters 1600-1940, 2002, p.155, pl. 193 & 194

A view of Belvoir: STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE There is a weave of cracquelure to the paint surface, which is characteristic for a painting of this age. There is some lifting paint along the bottom edge of the canvas with some discoloured re-paint. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under utlraviolet light reveals minor re-touching to the aforentioned strip, as well as some re-touching along the upper edge, to the corners and in the sky. A thick varnish obscures a clear reading. Belvoir from the River Lagan: STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The work would appear to be in very good condition. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under ultraviolet light reveals a vertical damage with some associated re-paint in the sky just above the corner of Belvoir House. A thick varnish obscures a clear reading, but there would appear to be some older touches of re-paint in the sky. Belvoir, Figures boating on the lake in the foreground: STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE There is a weave of cracquelure to the paint surface, which is characteristic for a painting of this age. There are a couple of spots of discoloured re-touchings to stretcher marks in the lower left hand corner. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under ultraviolet light reveals a thick varnish which obscures a clear reading. There would appear to be some evidence of old re-touchings in the sky, as well as some light touches of more recent re-paint in the foreground and some cosmetic heightening touches along the horizon line. Belvoir towards Carrickfergus: STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE There is a weave of cracquelure to the paint surface which is characteristic for a painting of this age. The varnish layer is very dirty and the painting should clean well. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under ultraviolet light reveals a thick varnish which obscures a clear reading. However, there would appear to be some touches of re-paint to the figures in the lower right hand corner. The work would appear to be in generally excellent condition. FRAMES All four canvases are held in gilt wood frames.
"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."

This rare complete set of early Irish landscape views preserved in wonderful condition, have never appeared on the open market. They have descended directly in the family of Arthur 1st Viscount Dungannon who commissioned these paintings of his principle Irish seat.

The estate of Belvoir is fulsomely recorded in Harris's Survey of County Down published in 1740; 'three miles south of Belfast, is Belvoir, a pleasant Seat of the Honourable Arthur Hill Esq; laid out lately in Taste; the Avenue is large and handsome, the Fruitery, from an irregular Glyn, is now disposed in regular Canals, with Cascades, Slopes and Terraces, and the Kitchin Ground inclosed with Espaliers, the best of the Gardens lying over the Lagan River, which is navigable to this Place. The Offices are finished, but the House not yet build. A small walk from Belvoir, is a neat well finished Church, built at the Expense of the Right Honourable the Lady Midleton.'

The land at Belvoir, originally called Ballyenaghan, had been purchased in 1722 for £2000 by Michael Hill of Hillsborough and his wife Anne, the daughter and heir of Sir John Trevor (1637-1717). Anne then married Alan Broderick, Viscount Midleton. It was Viscountess Midleton who renamed the estate Belvoir partly because of the view (Belle Vue) and partly after Belvoir Castle near Grantham in Lincolnshire, the seat of the Dukes of Rutland, where she had spent a large part of her childhood. In the 1740's she gave instructions for a house to be built at Belvoir for her second and favourite son, Arthur Hill (Fig. 1).

Arthur Hill-Trevor, later 1st Viscount Dungannon, inherited all the Trevor property from his father's half brother, Marcus Hill (d. 1751). He was a prominent member of Irish society, becoming M.P. for Hillsborough from 1715-1755, and for County Down from 1757 to 1765. Clearly adept at administration he fulfilled many other high ranking government roles including Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1754-1755.[i] As a founder member of the Dublin Society of Artists in 1731, it is presumably here that he first came into contact with the artist of these views Jonathan Fisher.

Extolled as 'one of the more interesting landscape painters in late eighteenth-century Ireland,' sadly little biographical information survives about the Dublin based artist Jonathan Fisher. Having been awarded a premium for landscape painting by the Dublin Society in 1763 he was commissioned to paint these views and exhibited them at the Society in 1767. Clearly gaining favour for such views, he secured yet another premium at the Society for landscape painting in 1768.

According to Pasquin writing in 1796 Fisher was self-educated.[ii] Clearly well connected he was a close friend of Lord Carlow, later first Earl of Portarlington who was a regular visitor to Fisher's home in Great Ship Street, Dublin. Lady Portarlington was also taught to paint by Fisher during his frequents visits to their family seat Emo.[iii]

Fisher was to travel extensively drawing views and panoramas. However to capitalise upon the current vogue for Irish views he published many, including: Strangford Lough at Castleward (National Trust) and Castle Dillon near Armagh (Armagh Museum) in sets of engravings. Subsequently Fisher completed a more extensive publication entitled, Scenery of Ireland illustrated in a series of prints of select views, castles and abbies, published in Dublin in 1795 & 1796. (He was commissioned to paint large scale paintings for Lord Carlisle of Castle Howard and views such as these of Belvoir. [iv].)

This set together depicts an almost 360 degree panorama of the Belvoir House and estate. The house is believed to have been designed by  Richard Cassels (or Castell), a German architect who came to Ulster in 1725. Cassels had designed Knockbreda Parish Church as mentioned earlier for Lady Midleton, and other large houses in Ireland including Carton, for the 19^th Earl of Kildare in 1739 and Leinster House in Dublin, in 1745.[v]

This set is painted in soft and harmonious tones using a deliberately cohesive palette throughout. The climate is consistently presented as sunny with touches of white clouds asserting the impression of this as an idyllic and amenable family estate. At all times the house is magnificently portrayed, the bright red bricks and splendid new portico emphasise the splendour to be found there and overpowering any other architectural feature in the near vicinity, including the Church of Knockbreda.

In two views the management of forestry and neatly organised pastoral farmland surround the house and suggest an efficient and well managed estate. In the remaining two views, leisure and even courtship flourish in this fertile landscape. Belfast is visible nearby where sociability, refined pursuits and luxurious commodities are to be found within easy reach of the estate. Belvoir was renowned for the 'sumptuous entertainment' of guests, [vi] and Mrs Delaney of Mount Panther, County Down, the well known eighteenth century diarist attested to such pleasurable entertainment at Belvoir in her letters.[vii] However, such public notoriety may have been instrumental in attracting less welcome visitors as Belvoir also gained public notice for the amount of burglary and poaching which took place all over the estate. Neither the house, the gardens, the forests nor even the farms and farmland it seems was immune from these alarmingly frequent raids.[viii]

In 1766, Arthur Hill was created Baron Hill of Olderfleet and 1^st Viscount Dungannon. His second marriage was to Anne daughter and heir of Edmund Francis Stafford, of Brownstown, County Meath, and of Mount Stafford, County Antrim, and Penelope daughter of the Reverend Henry Leslie, Archdeacon of Down with whom he had a son and two daughters.[viiii] Of particular interest is their grandson, Arthur Duke of Wellington (Fig. 2), the son of their second daughter Anne and Garrett, Earl of Midleton.[x] Arthur Wellesely, Duke of Wellington consequently had close links with Belvoir, his mother having grown up there and later in life having lived at Annadale Hall nearby. 

[i] He was also Sheriff of Count Down in 1736, Keeper of the Records from 1719-1734, Registrar of the Deeds from 1736-1749 and Commissioner of Revenue from 1755-1771.
[ii] As quoted in, A. Crookshank and the Knight of Glin, lit op cit, 2002, p. 154.
[iii] G. Clark, Gleanings from an Old Portfolio, 3 vols, 1895, vol. 1, p. 53 as quoted in A. Crookshank and the Knight of Glin, lit op cit, 2002, p. 154, ft. 59.
[iv] Such views include Carlingford and Kilarney, illustrated in A. Crookshank and the Knight of Glin, lit op cit, 2002, p. 154, and two sketchbooks which he used from 1768 to 1770 are in the National Library of Ireland.
[v] See R.E. Wood, Set on a Hill, 1987, pp. 11-17.
[vi] Belfast Newsletter, 18 October 1785, p.2., col. 4).
[vii] See Mrs Delaney, wife of the Dean Delaney of Mount Panther, Dundrum, County Down, letters dated 1 October 1758, 27th January 1759, and 3^rd February 1759 in particular.
[viii] As reported in the Belfast Newsletter and General Advertiser, from 1771 to 1787.
[viiii] Arthur Hill's first wife, also named Anne, was the second daughter of Joseph Deane, of Crumlin, Dublin and Margaret daughter of Henry Boyle of Castlemartyr, Cork. She had died after only one year of marriage.
[x] Their son the Honourable Arthur Trevor married in 1762, Letitia, eldest daughter of Harvey Viscount Mount Norris and their two daughters also both married. Their first daughter Penelope Prudence married Charles Powell Leslie of Glassborough, County Monaghan.