Michael Collins 1922 Portrait by Leo Whelan (Centenary Limited Edition) Full Size

This life-size painting is the only painting which Michael Collins sat for in Dublin while he was alive. Leo Whelan painted it as part of a commission to paint the 13 members of the new Free State Government cabinet in a series of portraits now residing in the stairwell of the West Wing of the National Museum.

Following the Truce and following Treaty split within the Republican movement ,there were prescient concerns that many of the leaders in the Provisional Government might not survive an impending civil war. Collins sat for this painting in Whelan's 64 Dawson Street Studio on the 17th and 20th of February 1922. These details can be seen in writing on the back of the original (see inset pictured below). 

At the time he sat for this painting, Collins was Chairman of the Provisional Government, Minister for Finance, President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (where he sat as a member IRB Supreme Council, the Intelligence wing of the Irish Military) and Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Army.

The painting was not intended to be a stand-alone portrait. However, following his tragic death in August 2022, the painting took on a life of its own. There are no comparable paintings to equal the depth of his personality which this remarkable life-size study of Collins captures. With its deep and dark colours and his enormous personality coming through (see a close-up detail below) , it's like being in the same room as Collins during this troubled period in Irish history. The painting was purchased by Martin Walton in the early 1950's to prevent it leaving the country and the provenance resides with the Walton Family. For nearly 60 years the painting could been viewed in the Piano Gallery of the original Waltons Music shop in North Frederick Street. Permission to reproduce the painting has been kindly granted by the Leo Whelan Estate where the artist copyright for this work still resides.

To mark the centenary of his death in 2022 each of these 250 limited edition paintings has been digitally reproduced on high quality canvas which sit within a superbly finished choice of frames. The painting comes with a numbered limited edition certificate from The Walton Collection.

There are four different period and handmade frame types available of the full size version with frame dimensions and weights varying accordingly. To see a larger image of each frame type at the top of the page, simply click on the choice of frame type below and it will appear above.