Doctor's quest to find information on Co Armagh artist Harold Magee as artwork to be donated to NI museums
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Dr William (Bill) Wood grew up in Portadown but has lived in Suffolk for almost 50 years. Dr Wood is searching for information on a Co Armagh landscape artist, Harold Magee, who painted several commissioned pieces for his late father.
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Bill’s father, George E Wood moved to Portadown from Tullyvin (near Cootehill) Co Cavan in 1922. He and Bill’s grandfather had a coach building works (W. Wood and Son) at 17 Hanover Street in Portadown. It was there the young Bill grew up in the 1950s.
Dr Wood explained: “My Dad enjoyed the paintings of local artist Harold Magee and purchased eight of these mainly in the 1930s-1950s.
"Several paintings of note included the area around Silent Valley and Narrow Water Castle. The final painting he undertook for my Dad was a very striking painting of the thatched cottages that stood at the head of Bachelor's Walk, just off the Guildford Road.
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Hide Ad"This was completed in oils in 1972. I used to pass these cottages as I went to and from Portadown College. These paintings passed to my when my father died in 1979,” he revealed.
"The paintings mainly came through McFaul's Wallpaper and Paint shop, that stood between Gaynor's Fish and Chips shop, and McCabe's Bicycle shop in Church Walk, behind St Mark's Church.
"I am in the process of donating these paintings to a number of Art Museums in Northern Ireland. The problem is one of providing details about the artist, Harold Magee. He is completely unknown on the internet and on the databases of Watercolour and oils artists. He has fallen into complete obscurity. He was however well know about the town.”
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Hide AdDr Wood is hoping that the people of Portadown might recall Harold Magee and could reveal more about the man and his art. It is understood Harold Magee featured in a column written by Portadown Times journalist Brian McCourtney - ‘Those were the Days’ in the 1980's or 1990s.
If you have any information about the artist please email [email protected] Dr Wood is very keen to learn more about Harold Magee.