Analysis: the Clareman's collection of over 20,000 photos provides an invaluable trove of source material about Ireland's history
By Orla Fitzpatrick, TCD
Clare-born Sean Sexton's collection of over 20,000 images spans the history of photography. The subject of a forthcoming documentary, Sexton's keen eye has identified gems covering post-famine Ireland right through to the turbulent revolutionary years. He was ahead of the curve when he started this collection in 1970s London. Photography has not, until recently, received its rightful institutional recognition either in Ireland or elsewhere. For example, the Tate Modern in London did not begin to collect the medium seriously until 2009.
Sexton's collection includes all formats, genres and processes, from early salt-paper negatives and once-off daguerreotypes through to snapshots and spy cameras. Portraits, landscapes and even nudes are in the collection. The latter were taken in Waterford by Louis Jacob between 1892 and 1911!
Some photographers in the Sexton are well-known, while others are obscure or indeed anonymous. It includes female innovators, such as Christine Chichester, whose striking 1900s images of the Aran Islands are amongst the finest depictions of that location. Rose Shaw's 1930s photographs of the Clogher Valley in Co Tyrone show a rural way of life that would soon disappear.
Long before the Decade of Centenaries, Sexton was collecting photographs relating to 1916, the War of Independence and the Civil War, and his interest pre-dates the commercial market for such images. His photograph of James Quirke, who was killed towards the end of the War of Independence, is a rare and stark depiction of the impact of the violence of that period.
Like many of his generation, Sexton emigrated to London in the 1970s. He had always been a collector, starting with stamps back in Clare and moved onto antiques before photography piqued his interest. His first purchases of Irish photographs were made in 1973. At this stage, photography was only beginning to be taken seriously by the big auction houses and he attended early photography sales at Sotheby's and Christies's.
Sexton didn’t have a lot of money to begin with but his ability to spot the market potential of photographs, and the purchase and resale of non-Irish photographs, allowed him to build up reserves and fund his Irish collection. One such example is the work of the English gardener and photographer Charles Jones, whose photographs of prize vegetables dating from 1900, were bought by Sexton at Bermondsy market in London. These were then sold on at a considerable profit as the beautiful gelatin silver prints were much sought after by interior designers, chefs and foodies.
The Irish landed gentry were early adopters of photography, having access to both the leisure time and finances required to undertake collecting the new invention. Sexton owns some of the most compelling images of this vanished life. He bought albums of images taken by early female photographers such as Augusta Caroline Crofton (later Lady Clonbrock, wife of 4th Baron Clonbrock, Luke Gerald Dillon).
Born in Mote Park, Co Roscommon in 1839 (the year photography was invented), Crofton's images stand out as providing a thoughtful portrayal of that world. Created using the difficult wet plate collodion process, the extent of her photography is astounding for its range and technical ability. Sexton highlights her work and that of Robert Shaw and Christine Chichester for particular praise, noting that Irish photographers were influential during this early wave of amateur practice.
But the collector's relationship with this class is complicated, recognising as he does the inequalities of that system of land ownership. The shadow of the Famine (a term Sexton disputes) hangs over some of these images as many of those depicted lived through this calamity. Some were of the class who suffered most and images from Sexton's collection have been used to illustrate documentaries and books depicting this troubled period.
Sexton is keen to point out that historical accuracy must be preserved and that the photographs of evictions in the 1880s are not representations of the famine, even if some of those depicted lived through it. His photographs of evicted tenants in 1870s and 1880s Clare and Donegal are a vital primary source for our understanding of the Land Wars.
Sexton's collection has been the subject of two publications: one with an introduction by the historian J.J. Lee was published by Laurence King in 1994 and the other was published by Thames & Hudson in 2004. Selections from the collection have been exhibited in Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland, Britain and the United States
However, the extent of Sexton's collection warrants a prolonged period of research and curation. He himself is first to admit that he has not had the time to fully research the images that he has amassed. The biographies of the photographers and the detailed captions in some of the albums require much further investigation.
The Sexton collection represents an invaluable trove of primary source material for Irish historians and is of immense interest to the general public. Where possible, collections like this should be kept intact. If acquired by an institution, it is necessary that it is made accessible through cataloguing and that it is properly stored, exhibited and shared with the public. The resources required to do this would be extensive, but the collection is of such importance that it requires this level of investment.
Framing Irish History - The Sean Sexton Collection will be screened on RTÉ 1 on December 28th at 6.30pm and on RTÉ Player
Dr Orla Fitzpatrick is Ireland’s Border Culture Research Fellow at the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute at TCD.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
