Historic Irish census abstract painting in the style of Georgian doors - Art gift for strong women - original, multi-coloured, framed painting - Gifts for her - Free shipping worldwide
This multi-coloured abstract painting of a Georgian door is part of a series where each painting is a snapshot of one of the familes who lived behind a door taken from the 1901 or 1911 census. This one is of an 16 year old carriage maker called Eliza. You can read the full story behind this painting below. It is a perfect art gift for strong women. I can also do a personalised version as a gift, with details of the strong woman in your life. Free shipping worldwide
This painting is part of a series I was inspired to paint after seeing a tweet by a painting and decorating company! (You can see the tweet in the photos). After seeing these tweets, I started thinking about all the Georgian doors in Dublin and the thousands of lives that have passed through the doors over so many years.
I was thinking about their lives and loves, joy and heartbreak, challenges and achievements. I wondered whether people chose their favourite colours when they painted these doors, whether the chosen colour was from some leftover paint, and whether there were ever any disagreements about what colours to use between husbands and wives!
As a result, I started looking up the streets of Dublin on Google Streetview to find doors I liked. Then I looked up the addresses in the Irish 1901 and 1911 census to get a snapshot of one family who had lived behind each of these doors and created these cheerful and colourful abstract paintings.
I’ve called this series “Layers of Lives”.
When I saw the census entry for 39.2 Leeson Street, I knew I had to do a painting about it, as the family’s only daughter, Eliza O’Brien, was listed as an apprentice coachmaker. Eliza’s father is a coachmaker and Eliza and her younger brother Joseph (14) are listed as Apprentice Coachmakers under profession or occupation. The fact that Eliza is listed as this immediately jumped out at me because, in many of the other census records that I viewed, the occupations for the other teenage girls are more traditionally female roles, such as housemaid, seamstress, teacher, etc.
In the other paintings I have done in this series, I have only included the outer shape of the fanlight that is traditionally above these types of doors. Whereas in this painting, I made more of a reference to it, however this is because I wanted the fanlight to represent the top half of a coachwheel, which I did by roughly scratching lines with paint leading to a center point, which is the center of the coachwheel.
Eliza, who was 16 years old in the 1901 census, lived with her parents and 6 brothers. She’s the only daughter and the 2nd oldest child. With so many brothers, I’m sure this had an impact on Eliza being able to hold her own whilst working as an apprentice in a mostly male-dominated profession. So I included a growth chart that many families have (in my time, we marked our height by writing the name of the child and date on the doorframe!) and included all of her brother’s ages at the time of the census, but I also included Eliza’s name on the opposite side to the boys. The window above the door represents part of a coachwheel.
Another notable feature in this census is the entry for her older brother, James. In the last column of the census it says “If Deaf and Dumb; Dumb only; Blind; Imbecile or Idiot; or Lunatic – Write the respective infirmities opposite the name of the afflicted person”. Besides James’ name it says “Imbecile”.
The fact that “Imbecile or Idiot; or Lunatic” is included in the census indicated to me that it was deemed as important and widespread enough to include it, but it was the first time I saw this marked in any of the ones that I had viewed. It made me wonder whether that’s because, as we’ve heard over the years, so many families locked away their family members who were “Imbeciles, Idiots or Lunatics”, whereas Eliza’s parents decided not to do this.
This fact, and the fact that their only daughter was an apprentice coachmaker, makes me wonder if they would have been considered very forward-thinking for their time. I’d like to think that that was the case, so I decided to remember them by including a St. Brigid’s cross for her mother, Bridget, and a shamrock for her father, Patrick. I also included the family name in Ogham on the left, as if it had been drawn on the doorpost.
Now, one thing about this census entry is that it is listed as 39.2 Leeson Street, which means the main door leading down the steps to the street may not actually have been the door that the O’Briens used. The door that they used may have been the basement door, under the front door. Today, that door is the entrance to Angels Lapdancing Club! When I discovered this, I did have a chuckle to myself, because –wanting to believe that Bridget and Patrick were forward-thinking parents – what would they say knowing that their former home is now a lap-dancing club? Would they be horrified, or would they see absolutely no problem with it? What would Eliza, the female apprentice in a male-dominated industry, think of it? Unfortunately, we’ll never know the answer to that.
And if you want to buy Eliza’s old home – it’s currently on the market starting at the very low price of €4,750,000!
I can also paint personalised versions of this art with details of your own family and life. Please send me a message for more details.
This modern abstract painting is on a stretched canvas and was painted using a palette knife and acrylic paint. It is not a print. The wooden frame, which has been hand-painted in white, is included in the price. It is ready to hang as hooks and string have been attached to the back of the frame.
This unique, contemporary abstract painting with such a large variety of colors would suit the color scheme in most rooms as there are bound to be colors in the painting that will complement and match the colors in any room! It would be a wonderful Anniversary present or Christmas art gift for art lovers!
Title: “Layers of Lives – Eliza”
Materials: High-quality acrylic on a stretched canvas
Framed: Yes, hand-painted, white wooden frame
Size of the canvas without frame: 6 inches high x 6 inches wide x 1/2 inch deep or 15 cm high x 15cm wide x 1 1/2 cm deep
Size including the frame: 6 and 3/4 inches high x 6 and 3/4 inches wide x 1 inch deep or 17cm high x 17cm wide x 2 3/4cm deep
Varnished: Yes
Print: No, it’s an original painting
Ready to hang: Yes, hooks and string have been added to the back
Painting is signed by me, the artist, on the front and back.
Full details on gifts, shipping and more is below
Thank you for visiting my shop and viewing my paintings :) I will be adding more paintings so please favourite my shop to get updates when new paintings are added and visit again soon!
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Customize this painting?
Do you want this painting but in a different size or shape with little details about you, your family or a loved one? Then send me a message as I make custom orders. However please keep in mind that all paintings are one of a kind, so shapes and colours will be a little bit different in each painting!
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Please note: The photographs represent the painting as accurately as possible, but every computer/tablet/phone displays colours differently. As a result, the colors you see on your screen may vary slightly from the colors of the painting you receive. The photo of the picture on shelves is a close depiction of the actual size but please read the picture description for correct details. Including the frame, it is 6 and 3/4 inches high x 6 and 3/4 inches wide x 1 inch deep or 17cm high x 17cm wide x 2 3/4cm deep.
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Gifts
If it is a gift then let me know and I can include a card for the recipient with a message from you. Just drop me a note in “note to seller” with what you would like me to write in the card.
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Shipping
Each piece comes packaged carefully, safely and securely in a box that guarantees the safety of your artwork during transportation. All packages are shipped with a tracking number which will be provided to you when dispatched and will need a signature upon delivery. Please check shipping times for your region in the shipping details. Covid is causing delays in all postage around the world so please keep that in mind if you need your painting quickly. If you wish to choose a faster shipping option then please contact me before your purchase as overnight/faster shipping will incur a cost.
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Copyright
All designs, paintings, content and images are the copyright of Finn Callaghan. Use of these designs, paintings, content and images without my permission is strictly forbidden. The copyright is retained by Finn Callaghan and does not transfer with the sale of any artwork. Finn Callaghan only retains all rights to reproduction. All rights reserved.
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I’m a self-taught artist who has been painting for many years. I love simple shapes and subjects, and generally use bright and bold colours. Almost all of my pieces are painted using palette knives.
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