Irish art
The history of Irish art starts around 3200 BC with
The
From the late 17th century, talented artists began to emerge in the fields of fine art, particularly the painting of portraiture and landscapes. The early 18th century saw increased prosperity and establishment of new cultural institutions including the Royal Dublin Society (1731) and Royal Irish Academy (1785). In the Victorian era, with a lack of patronage and better opportunities to be found abroad, many Irish artists emigrated to London (portraitists) or Paris (landscapists), which stifled the nascent indigenous scene. By the dawn of the 20th century, things began to improve. Opportunities began to spring up at home; the Celtic Revival movement saw a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture, Hugh Lane established the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, the first public gallery of its kind in the world, and with increased patronage a new generation of homegrown talent and returning emigres gradually formed a solid basis for the regrowth of art in Ireland. The foundation of an independent Irish State in the early 1920s did not significantly alter the state of Ireland's visual arts; in the years following Independence, the arts establishment (exemplified by the committee of the Royal Hibernian Academy) was dominated by traditionalists who steadfastly opposed attempts to bring Irish art into line with contemporary European styles.[citation needed]
Early Irish art
Prehistory
Irish gold personal ornaments began to be produced within about 200 years either side of 2000 BC, especially in the thin crescent-shaped disks known as
Although Ireland tends to be strongly associated in the popular mind with
Later Irish art
In Ireland, "
Early Modern period
The visual arts were slow to develop in Early Modern Ireland, due to political disruption, and the lack of patrons in either government, the church, and wealthy resident landowners or business class interested in art. Yet beginning in the late 17th century, Irish painting began to develop, especially in portraiture and
In the second half of the 19th century a climate of cultural resurgence and nationalist ideals contributed to the development of an Irish style. A revived interest in the
Artists
Early Irish masters include:
Notable Irish sculptors have included Jerome Connor, John Henry Foley, Augustus Saint-Gaudens (born in Dublin, but emigrated to America at six months old), Mary Redmond, John Behan and Oliver Sheppard. Edward Delaney, Rachel Joynt, and Rowan Gillespie are contemporary sculptors. Harry Clarke, Sarah Purser and Evie Hone worked in stained glass.
Portraitists have included Daniel Maclise, John Lavery, William Orpen (both these War Artists in WWI), John Butler Yeats (father of Jack and William Butler), Henry Jones Thaddeus and Nathaniel Hone the Elder.
Apart from
Irish Modernism began with Mainie Jellett, with later participants being The White Stag group, The Exhibition of Living Art, Norah McGuinness, Louis le Brocquy, Patrick Scott, Patrick Swift, and John Kingerlee. Abstract expressionists included Tony O'Malley, Nano Reid and Patrick Collins.[5]
In
Contemporary art
Ireland's best known living artists include
Interest in collecting Irish art has expanded rapidly with the economic expansion of the country, primarily focussing on investment in early twentieth century painters.[citation needed] Support for young Irish artists is still relatively minor compared to their European counterparts, as the Arts Council's focus has been on improving infrastructure and professionalism in venues.
An exhibition called 'The Art of a Nation: Irish Works from the Allied Irish Bank and Crawford Art Gallery Collection' was held between 13 and 31 May 2015 at the Mall Galleries, The Mall, London. It celebrated the story of Irish art from 1890s to the present day and included important works by Aloysius O'Kelly, Sir William Orpen, Jack B Yeats, William Scott, Sean Scully and Hughie O'Donoghue.
- Kevin Abosch, Gerard Byrne, Dorothy Cross, James Coleman, Amanda Coogan, Colin Davidson, Joe Dunne, Ross Eccles, Fergus Feehily, Gary Farrelly, Ronan Goti, James Hanley, Gottfried Helnwein, Sean Hillen, Mary Fitzgerald, Vera Klute, Stephen Lawlor, John Long, Paul McCloskey, Mick O'Dea, Nick Miller, Michael Mulcahy, Rasher, Peter Richards, Anne Rigney, Victor Sloan, Paul Seawright, Samuel Walsh, Conor Walton.
Mural painting
Northern Ireland has a significant tradition of political mural painting, from both the
See also
- List of Irish artists
- Aosdána
- Statues in Dublin
- Celtic art
- Scottish art
- Welsh art
- Category:Irish contemporary artists
References
- ^ NMI, 134
- ^ NMI, Chapter, 7, Later Medieval Ireland
- ^ "Irish Artists: 18th Century: Robert West". Encyclopedia of Irish & World Art: 2010. visual-arts-cork.com.
- ^ [1] Steward, James Christian. The Irishness of Irish Painting. Retrieved Nov. 15, 2007.
- ^ Irish Arts Review Spring 2009: "Patrick Collins: A Modern Celt", Brian Fallon "Current Issue - Irish Arts Review". Archived from the original on 2010-10-27. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
Further reading
- Treasures of early Irish art, 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D.: from the collections of the National Museum of Ireland, Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College, Dublin. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1977. ISBN 9780870991646.
- "NMI": Wallace, Patrick F., O'Floinn, Raghnall eds. Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities, 2002, Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, ISBN 0-7171-2829-6
- Bruce Arnold (1977). Irish Art: A Concise History. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-20148-X
- Kevin Samuel Murphy (1969) Irish artist born in London, England.
External links
- The Irish Arts Council
- National Gallery of Ireland
- Centre for the Study of Irish Art Archived 2018-09-05 at the Wayback Machine @ the National Gallery of Ireland
- The National Irish Visual Arts Library
- www.modernart.ie Irish Museum of Modern Art.