Description The River Liffey'Anna Livia Plurabelle'.This painting is based on the main character in Joyces classic Finnegans Wake. The character is interchangeable between a heroine and a river (The Liffey) which enters the sea as it flows through Dublin. It is therefore both. The image is from one of a series of river gods commissioned by the famous architect James Gandon (1743-1823) from Edward Smyth, a virtually unknown stonemason who worked on them from 1780 to their completion in 1786, for the Custom House in Dublin. The heads of the river were 14 in number and were called after 14 different rivers in Ireland. The Liffey is the only female of the 14. The sculptures can be seen to this day on the outside of the building, over 200 years later.RogerCummiskey.com