John Turpin assesses a selection of sculpture by Jerome Connor, best known in Ireland for his poignantly evocative Lusitania Peace Memorial in Cobh

Emigration to the United States of America in the late 19th century offered great opportunities of artistic expression and of art patronage for a potential artist. Most Irish sculptors of the period came from urban artisan backgrounds, even if they were to develop into fine art sculptors. Artisan sculptors found employment in the embellishment of churches and commercial buildings but fine art sculptors found patronage less plentiful