Incredible portrait of Dr. Mary Strangman unveiled in Waterford
Una Sealy with her portrait of Dr. Mary Strangman. Photo: DGM Photographic
An incredible portrait of historic Waterford figure Dr. Mary Strangman was recently unveiled at Waterford Gallery of Art.
The life-size portrait features Dr. Strangman, stood atop the Infirmary Hill, where she was appointed physician in 1923 and worked there along with her own practice on Parnell Street until her death in 1943.
Parnell Street can be seen in the distance, as can St. John’s Church with its original pinnacle structures.
Dr. Strangman is seen with a bicycle, which became a symbol of the suffrage movement in the nineteenth century, as it marked the first time that women had the independence and means to travel, meet and organise.
Dr. Mary Somerville Parker Strangman (1872–1943) was a leading figure in the movement. Born in Waterford, she enrolled at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1891, and received her licence in 1896.
After training and lecturing in Britain, she became the second woman to earn the fellowship of RCSI in 1902. Establishing a practice in Waterford, Strangman also volunteered at various local women’s charities and published several research articles on alcoholism and morphine addiction.
Her increasing activism in women’s health, particularly combatting tuberculosis, as well as women’s suffrage, led her to being elected Waterford’s first woman councillor in 1912.
The OPW and Waterford Council-commissioned portrait of Dr. Mary Strangman was painted by Una Sealy RHA, a Dublin-based artist who was previously awarded for her portrait of local artist, Caoilfhionn Hanton.
Una told the Waterford News & Star: “I’m involved with the Royal College of Surgeons because I’m the professor of art there, so I was very familiar with Mary Strangman and I was really delighted to be able to take on this commission. Every aspect of her just completely resonated with me and the more time I spent time with her, the more fascinating I found her."
The work took Una approximately six months to complete, between historic research, site visits to Waterford and the actual painting itself.
The portrait can be viewed at Waterford Gallery of Art on O’Connell Street until April 5.
