One of a pair of paintings by Atkinson commemorating Queen Victoria’s visit to Ireland in 1849 (see also BHC0631), signed and dated ‘Geo M. W. Atkinson 1850’.

In August 1849, at the height of the crisis following the disaster of the Irish potato famine, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made their first visit to Ireland. The famine decimated the population, not only through death by starvation and disease but also through emigration: between 1845 and 1851 over 1.5 million people emigrated from Ireland, more than had left the country in the previous 50 years. Many sailed from the port of Cóbh (Cove), which was the most important emigrant port and was also the first stop on the royal visit: the royal yacht and squadron stayed there on 2–3 August. Despite the context of the Great Famine, the visit was a popular success and important in promoting loyalty to the Union among Irish Catholics.

Atkinson’s pair of pictures focuses firmly on this celebratory aspect. This is the companion piece to BHC0631, contrasting that moonlight with a daytime scene. It shows the scene on the day following the arrival of the royal party into Cork Harbour. Across the foreground are small boats full of people standing and waving towards the jetty in the left distance, where the town of Cóbh can be seen beyond. Here, the royal party are about to enter the garlanded pavilion, having gone ashore from the ‘Fairy’ yacht. Near the jetty and across the water are several paddle steamers, two of which heel dangerously as the people aboard crowd to one side. On the right is a sailing ship at anchor, with warships beyond. The painting thus follows the conventional format and composition of views of royal visits, dating back to the 17th century: a populous, celebratory, panoramic vista, in which the monarch is presented as the distant but central focus for crowds of loyal subjects.