Rev. John Pentland Mahaffy, attributed to Sarah Cecilia Harrison | Art Print

White hair, white whiskers, black clerical coat, and the upright, faintly amused bearing of Trinity College Dublin’s most famous talker — John Pentland Mahaffy, in a portrait attributed to Sarah Cecilia Harrison.

Mahaffy (1839–1919) was Trinity’s great classicist and wit, and Provost from 1914 until his death. He tutored the young Oscar Wilde, took him to Greece in 1877, and was called by Wilde “my first and best teacher”. The line most often credited to him is still quoted about Ireland: “the inevitable never happens and the unexpected constantly occurs.” The painting is in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI.1767), catalogued as attributed to Harrison.

Made for a Trinity graduate, a Wilde reader or a classicist’s study. Every print is open edition, made to order and shipped worldwide. See the full Sarah Cecilia Harrison collection.

Sizes & Format

• 20 × 25 cm / 8 × 10″
• 40 × 50 cm / 16 × 20″
• Available framed (black, white, wood) or unframed

Print & Frame Details

Archival matte paper, 250gsm (110lb), acid-free and FSC-certified — off-white, uncoated. Framed prints: solid oak or ash wood frame, 20mm thick, with shatterproof protective glazing. Ready to hang, hanging kit included. Unframed prints up to A4 ship flat; larger sizes ship rolled in a protective tube.

Free Worldwide Shipping

Framed prints are packed with protective corners and wrap, boxed with reinforced edges, and braced with internal supports for extra rigidity (max 3 frames per package). Every order ships free, made to order and delivered from the hub closest to you: Ireland 3–7 business days · UK 4–8 · USA 5–10 · Canada 6–12 · Australia 7–14.