Sculpture of José Murphy

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Art · Subcategory: Sculpture · Year: 2003 · Authors: Roberto Barrera

This sculpture is a tribute paid by the city to José Murphy within the framework of the commemoration, in 2003, of the bicentenary of the proclamation of Santa Cruz as a Free Town, in which this figure, so relevant in the history of the city, played a significant role.

José Murphy y Meade (1774-1841) was the son of the Irish merchant Patricio Murphy Kelly and Juana Meade, a native of Gran Canaria but also of Irish descent. The young José actively participated in the defence of Santa Cruz during Nelson's naval attack on Santa Cruz in 1797. In 1802 he had to take charge of the family business due to the death of his father, while also dedicating himself to political activities. In this field, he held numerous positions: councillor of the Consulate of the Canary Islands, syndic representative of the Santa Cruz Town Hall, member of the Supreme Government Board of the Canary Islands, and member of the Provincial Council.

During the so-called Liberal Triennium (1820-23), his political career reached its peak, and it was during this period that he achieved the greatest successes in his relentless struggle to secure the capital status of the Canary Islands province for Santa Cruz. In December 1821 he was elected deputy to the Cortes, a position from which he defended the economic and commercial rights of the Islands, emphasising the distinctive status compared to other provinces of Spain through the customs franchise regime.

The Restoration of 1823 forced him into exile, during which he passed through Gibraltar, England, and Mexico, where he died poor in 1841 alongside his second wife María del Carmen Creagh Amat.

The sculpture that pays tribute to him, located in Plaza de San Francisco opposite the old courts, is the work of Roberto Barrera, who followed some sketches by another great artist from Tenerife, Francisco Borges Salas, for its creation. Made of bronze, it is three metres tall and stands on a two-metre stone base. It represents the figure full-length, covered with a wide overcoat with a cape, in a slow walking posture and an expression of reflective sadness, accepting his defeat but also reflecting the feeling of duty fulfilled in his dedication to the land where he was born. The sculptor chose the moment when, condemned to death by garrote vil due to his opposition to the absolutist regime of Ferdinand VII, he had to go into exile.

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