The Collection

Thanks to the generosity of the McCarthy family, AIB and the Irish Government, Fota House is now home to one of the finest collections of Irish art in the country.

The pictures have been hung in the main reception rooms. Particular highlights of the collection are masterpieces of the Eighteenth-Century Irish landscape school, with notable works by Thomas Roberts (see photo), his teacher George Mullins and contemporaries George Barret, Robert Carver and William Ashford.

Among nineteenth-century works are significant paintings by Daniel Maclise, Erskine Nicol and James Arthur O'Connor. A room has been dedicated to Irish watercolours and drawings with exquisite works by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Mildred Anne Butler and George Petrie.

There are many works of Cork interest, with views of Blarney Castle and Coolmore House. In addition to Irish paintings there are fine examples of Dutch and Flemish art. A further group of family portraits of the Smith-Barrys, who built Fota, is now on display in the dining room.

The collection has been described as the most significant of its type outside the National Gallery of Ireland. In addition to all the other attractions on offer, Fota is worth a visit for the art alone.