Saint Clair Augustin Mulholland (Irish American, 1839-1910), Venice

Oil on canvas (lined), signed at lower left, presented in a period gilt frame with gallery plaque.

Stretcher size 24 x 36 in.; Frame dimensions 31 x 42 1/2 in.

St. Clair Mulholland was born in 1839 in Lisburn, County Antrim, Ireland, and immigrated with his family to Philadelphia at the age of eight. As a young boy, he was apprenticed to a shade maker, where he received his first, and only, formal instruction in painting while decorating lamp and window shades. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Pennsylvania Militia and soon joined the 116th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. Distinguished for his bravery and leadership, Mulholland served in numerous major engagements, rose to the rank of brevet Major General in 1864, and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Following the war, Mulholland served as Philadelphia’s Director of Public Safety before spending five years in Europe, traveling extensively and pursuing painting. Finding it difficult to earn a living as an artist, he later held positions as Pension Agent and Inspector of County Prisons. In 1886, he founded the Gettysburg Exposition Company, which commissioned artist Frank H. Briscoe to create a series of ten monumental murals depicting scenes from the Battle of Gettysburg. The paintings toured the country to widespread acclaim, further cementing Mulholland’s enduring connection to Civil War history and commemoration.

Wax lined; vertical line of surface abrasion and some paint loss to right half of canvas, with some retouch visible under UV light; repaired tear with associated retouch visible under UV light in lower right quadrant; yellowing to varnish; some loss and rubbing to frame.