I

West of Ireland Paintings at the National Gallery of Irelandfrom 1800 to 2000

II

National Gallery of Ireland / Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann

West of Ireland Paintings at the National Gallery of Irelandfrom 1800 to 2000Marie Bourke With contributions by Donal Maguire And Sarah Edmondson

The West of Ireland

23 TheWestasaSignificantPlaceforIrishArtists Contributions by Donal Maguire (DM), Administrator, Centre for the Study of Irish Art

24 JamesArthurO’Connor(1792–1841),The Mill, Ballinrobe,c.1818

25 GeorgePetrie(1790–1866),Pilgrims at Saint Brigid’s Well, Liscannor, Co. Clare,c.1829–30

26 FredericWilliamBurton(1816–1900),In Joyce Country (Connemara, Co. Galway),c.1840

27 FredericWilliamBurton(1816–1900),The Aran Fisherman’s Drowned Child,1841

28 AugustusBurke(c.1838–1891),A Connemara Girl

29 BartholomewCollesWatkins(1833–1891),A View of the Killaries, from Leenane

30 AloysiusO’Kelly(1853–1936),Mass in a Connemara Cabin, c.1883

31 WalterFrederickOsborne(1859–1903),A Galway Cottage, c.1893

32 JackB.Yeats(1871–1957),The Country Shop,c.1912

33 PaulHenry(1876–1958),The Potato Diggers,1912

34 JackB.Yeats(1871–1957),Before the Start,1915

35 CharlesVincentLamb(1893–1964),Loch an Mhuilinn

36 LillianLucyDavidson(1879–1954),Fashions at the Fair,c.1940s

37 MainieJellett(1897–1944),Achill Horses,1941

38 GerardDillon(1916–1971),The Little Green Fields,c.1946–50

39 JackB.Yeats(1871–1957),Men of Destiny,1946

40 KittyWilmerO’Brien(1910–1982),Near Westport, Co. Mayo

41 MauriceMacGonigal(1900–1979),Early Morning, Connemara (Mannin Bay),c.1965

42 RobertBallagh(b.1943),Portrait of Noel Browne (1915–1997), Politician,1985

44 TheTrainingofIrishArtistsandExhibitions

46 SuggestionsforFurtherReading

48 GuidelinesforTeachersSarahEdmondson,ArtTeacher,KillinardenCommunitySchool

62 Acknowledgements

Contents

5 Foreword,Sean Rainbird, Director, National Gallery of Ireland

6 DepictingtheWestofIrelandintheNineteenthandTwentiethCenturies, DrMarieBourke,Keeper,HeadofEducation

6 Introduction:TheLureoftheWest

6 GeorgePetrie(1790–1866),Dún Aonghasa, Inishmore, Aran Islands,c.1827

8 Timeline:KeyDatesinIrishHistoryandCulture,1800–1999

10 CuriosityaboutIreland:Guidebooks,TravelMemoirs

10 JamesArthurO’Connor(1792–1841),A View of Lough Mask

11 FredericWilliamBurton(1816–1900),Paddy Conneely (d.1850), a Galway Piper

12 Travel,TransportandCommunication

12 NathanielHoneII(1831–1917),The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, c.1890

13 PaulHenry(1876–1958),Launching the Currach,1910–11

13 InterestintheWest:IrishandOverseasPainters

14 WilliamEvans(1798–1877),Buttermilk Lane, Galway, 1838

14 HarryClarke(1889–1931),Landscape by the Coast,1910

15 SadbhTrínseach(1891–1918),Claude Chavasse Teaching an Irish Class on Achill Island, Co. Mayo, 1913–14

16 GeraldL.Brockhurst(1890–1978),Irish Peasants,1916

17 JackB.Yeats(1871–1957),A Cleric,1913

18 SeánKeating(1889–1977),A Seascape with Figures, c.1930s

18 IssuesofNationalIdentity

19 NiallNaessens(b.1961), Rain over a Bog, after Emil Nolde, 1997

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The National Gallery of Ireland houses the national collection of Irish art, including the national portrait collectionandtheYeatsarchive.ThispublicationfocusesonoverthirtyimagesoftheWestcreatedbyIrish-bornartistsorofIrishdecentbetween1800to2000.Ithasbeenwrittentodrawattentiontotherangeandvarietyofworksinthecollectionthatbeartestamenttotheen-during attraction of the West of Ireland.Theintroductoryessayprovidesanoverviewofwhat

constitutestheappealoftheWest,startingwithcuriosityaboutthemorepicturesqueareasofthecountry,whichiswhattraditionallyattractedartistsandtravellerstoIreland. Thisincludesmaps,togetherwithguidebooksandtravelmemoirs,thatnotaloneprovidedinforma-tion,butmanywereillustratedbyartistsprovidingearlytopographicalviewsofthecountry.ThisareaofIrelandwasremoteinthenineteenthcenturyandittookinitia-tivessuchastheconstructionofroadsandrailwaystoaugmentearlytravelbyfoot,horseback,carriageandboat.InspiteofthistherewasconsiderableinterestbyIrishandoverseaspaintersintheWest,includingthosewhocamefromBritainandAmerica.Thereactionofart-iststotheunspoiledWesternlandscapeandlifestyleiswhatformsthesubjectofthisbook.Theessayconcludeswithanexplorationofconceptsofnationalidentityandthe‘Irishness’ofthelandscapenotinghowartistshavecontinuedtolookedafreshatthissubjecttofindcon-temporaryrelevanceintheWest.Thereisausefultime-line of dates in Irish history and culture and information onthetrainingofIrishartistsandexhibitionvenues,tohelpprovideaframeworkforthebook.

Includedarenineteen individual entries looking atWesternpaintingsfrombetween1818to1985createdby artists from James Arthur O’Connor and George Pet-rietoMainieJellettandRobertBallagh,withcontribu-tionsbyDonalMaguire.AsectiondevotedtoguidelinesforteachershasbeencompiledbySarahEdmondson.ThebookisavailableasadownloadablepdfontheNGIwebsite@www.nationalgallery.ie/learning,providinganaccessible resource for schools, as noted in The Arts in Education Charter(2012).I am indebted to the following for their assistance

onthisproject:MarieBourke,HeadofEducationwhohaswrittenthebookwithcontributionsbySarahEd-mondsonandDonalMaguire.My thanksalso to theDepartmentofArts,HeritageandtheGaeltachtandtheDepartmentofEducationandSkillsfortheirassistance,and to Matheson foritssupportofChildren’sandFamilyProgrammes at the National Gallery of Ireland. Ihopethatvisitorsfromnearandafarwillenjoythis

bookabouttheWestofIreland–whichformsasourceofinspirationforsomuchoftheartandliteratureaboutthiscountry–illustratedinthepaintings,drawingsandprintsfromtheNationalGalleryofIreland.

Foreword SeanRainbird,Director,TheNationalGalleryofIreland

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toSligo,includingConnemara.Theearlierpaintingsil-lustratepeoplewhowerepoorandsurvivedthroughfishing,farminganddomesticspinning,andwereen-tertainedbymusicanddance,atatimewhensocietywas largelydividedbyclass,religionandpolitics.Thepaintingstheyinspiredofferaglimpseintothesociallife,historyandfolkloreofpre-andpost-FamineConnacht.TheWestwasaremoteplaceinthenineteenthcen-

turyanditsproximitytotheAtlanticOceanmeantthattherewas extensiveuseof the sea. The countrysideandmountainoustractswerestony,difficulttoharvest,andoftenlonelyplacesinwhichtolive,untiltheareawasopeneduptotransportandcommunication.Atthebeginningof thetwentiethcentury, JackB.Yeatswasamonganewgenerationofartistswhohopedthatanewly independent Irelandwoulddevelopamodernculturethatrespectedtraditionalmusic,artformsandliterature.1 Saorstát Éireann, published as the officialhandbookoftheIrishFreeStatein1932,wassymbolicofthisvision.ThehandbookincludedfourteenimagesoftheWestbyartists,includingSeánKeatingandMau-rice MacGonigal.2RecentwriterslikeTimRobinson,whomappedthegeographyandtopographyoftheBurren,ConnemaraandtheAranIslandsandmetthepeopleof the countryside, described Connemara as a ‘land of “dappled things” – complicated skies, ripplingwater-surfaces,tussockyhillsides’.3Duringthetwentiethcen-tury,despitepoliticalupheavals,Irelandbecamemoreprosperousandurbanised,society lessstratifiedandmorefocusedonincome,andthequalityoflifeformanypeopleimproved,includingthoselivingintheWest.

Theconceptofnational identity, theexplorationofwhat is unique about theWest of Ireland andwhatconstitutes the ‘Irishness’of the landscapecontinuestointerestartistsinthetwenty-firstcentury,manyhav-inglookedatthissubjectafreshthroughphotography,installation,video,digitalmediaandfilm.Thesevisualinterpretationsreflectnewideasandconceptsfor‘imag-ining’aplacethatcontinuestobeanenduringsourceofinspiration.Thus,foravarietyofreasonsandforacross-sectionofpeopleinarangeofdisciplines,theWesthascometoberegardedasrepresentativeofaplacethatretainsasenseofanauthenticwayoflifefromanear-liertime.TheWestofIreland,whichformsasourceofinspirationforsomuchoftheartandliteratureaboutthis country, is discussed here, illustrated through the workof Irish-bornartistsorartistsof Irishdescent inpaintings,drawingsandprintsfromtheNationalGalleryof Ireland.

Introduction:TheLureoftheWestThe West of Ireland’s enduring attraction for artists is partlyduetothefactthattraditionalcustomsandwaysoflifewerevisibletherelongaftertheyhaddisappearedelsewhere.SimilartoFranceinthelaternineteenthcen-tury,whenpaintersflockedfromParistoBrittanytore-cordanancientyetdecliningBretoncultureandlifestyle,inthenineteenthandtwentiethcenturies,artiststrav-elledtotheWestofIrelandtoimmersethemselvesinanunspoiledlandscapeinhabitedbypeoplewhospokeIrish,woretheirownstyleofclothingandlivedoffthe

landandthesea.Theseartistswereinspiredbythewild-nessoftheremoteunfamiliarlandscapeandthelifeoftheIrishruralcommunities.Theyfoundeveryplacehaditstraditions,everynameits localhistoryandpoetry,andeverytownlanditsarchaeologyandfolklorewiththepeoplethemselvesbearingtestamenttotherich-ness of this inheritance. The imagery that these artists produced,depictingthewaypeoplelived,oftencamewithanimpliedsenseofauthenticitythatreflectedtheartist’sownpersonalimpressionsofruralIreland.TheWestportrayedinthisbookencompassescountiesClare

Depicting the West of Ireland in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries DrMarieBourke,Keeper,HeadofEducation

GeorgePetrie(1790–1866),Dún Aonghasa, Inishmore, Aran Islands,c.1827.Watercolour and graphite on paper, 29.8 x 46.4 cm. Provenance unknown. NGI.7481

The Fort of Aengus is the largest of the promontory stone forts and one of the most important archaeological sites on the Aran Islands. Situated one hundred metres above the Atlantic Ocean, it is enclosed by three concentric stone walls and a chevaux de frise defence of upright stones set in the hard ground. Petrie was one of the first artists to paint on the Aran Islands in 1821.

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1932 EconomicTariffWarbetweenBritainandIreland(1932–1938)

1935 IrishFolkloreCommissionisestablished1938 DouglasHyde(1860–1947)becomesPresident

of Ireland1939 SecondWorldWar(1939–1945).Stateof

emergency declared, Ireland neutral1942 PatrickKavanagh’s(1904–1967)epicpoem

The Great Hunger1949 IrelandActpassedinBritaininresponseto

theRepublicofIrelandAct(1948).MáirtínÓCadhain’s(1907–1970)novelCré na Cille

1951 ArtsCouncil/AnChomhairleEalaíonisestablished

1951 MinisterforHealthresignsoverrejectionofMother&ChildScheme(enacted1953)

1955 Ireland admitted to United Nations1958 T.K.Whitaker’s(b.1916)Economic Development

ispublished1958 FirstprogrammeforEconomicExpansion

(1963–1944and1969)1960 RadióTelifísÉireannRTÉisestablished1962 Arts Council of Northern Ireland is established1963 IntroductionofPatrickHillery’splanforuniversal

secondary education1969 SamuelBeckett(1906–1989)NobelPrizefor

Literature1972 ‘BloodySunday’,andstartofDirectRulein

Northern Ireland1973 IrishRepublicjoinsEEC1973 NorthernIrelandAssembly,power-sharing

executivefounded1980 BrianFriel’s(b.1929)Translationsperformedby

FieldDayCompany,Derry1985 Anglo-IrishAgreement1990 MaryRobinsonelectedfirstwomanPresident

of Ireland1991 IrishMuseumofModernArtopened1993 DepartmentofArts,CultureandtheGaeltachtis

established

1995 SeamusHeaney(1939–2013)NobelPrizeforLiterature

1995 HeritageCouncilbecomesstatutorybody1997 Establishment of the National Museum of

Ireland,DecorativeArtsandHistory,andTheHuntMuseum,Limerickopened

1998 GoodFridayAgreement.FormationofMuseumsand Galleries of Northern Ireland

Timeline:KeyDatesinIrishHistoryandCulture,1800–19991800 TheActofUnion.MariaEdgeworth’s(1768–1849)

novelCastle Rackrent 1803 Unsuccessful Rising organised by Robert Emmet

(1778–1803)1824 OrdnanceSurvey,Irelandestablished1829 CatholicEmancipationAct1830 WilliamCarleton’s(1794–1869)novelTraits and

Stories of the Irish Peasantry1831 Establishment of the National School elementary

education system 1831 BelfastNaturalHistoryMuseumopened1838 EducationActsenactedinIreland.PoorLawsfor

Ireland enacted1838 FatherMathewTemperanceMovement1842 YoungIrelandMovement1843 The NationfoundedbyThomasDavis,Charles

GavanDuffy,JohnBlakeDillon1845 TheFamine(1845–1850)1845 GeologicalSurveyAct.Queen’sCollegessetup

inCork,BelfastandGalway1849 Encumbered Estates Act facilitates sale of land1853 DublinInternationalExhibitionofArt-Industry,

LeinsterLawn1854 Act to establish National Gallery of Ireland

(opens1864)1854 EstablishmentoftheCatholicUniversityof

Ireland1857 EstablishmentoftheDublinNaturalHistory

Museum 1857 CharlesStewartParnell(1846–1891)electedMP

for Meath1870 Gladstone’s1stLandAct1877 Act to establish Museum of Science and Art,

andNationalLibrary(opens1890)1879 LandLeaguefoundedbyMichaelDavitt

(1846–1906)1884 Gaelic Athletic Association founded1887 LightRailwaysActenacted1890 EstablishmentofBelfastArtGalleryandMuseum

1891 CongestedDistrictsBoardssetuptoalleviateruralpovertyinagriculture,fisheriesanddomestic industries in the Western counties

1893 GaelicLeaguefoundedbyEoinMcNeillandDouglasHyde

1895 OscarWilde’s(1854–1900)firstperformanceof The Importance of Being Earnest

1898 IrishLiteraryTheatrefounded,1904becomes the Abbey Theatre

1899 DepartmentofAgricultureandTechnicalInstruction, Ireland established

1907 RiotingatJ.M.Synge’s(1871–1909)Playboy of the Western World, Abbey Theatre

1902 LandConferencefollowedbyWyndham’sLandPurchase Act

1908 MunicipalGalleryofModernArtfoundedbyHughLane(1875–1915)

1910 LordWilliamCarsonbecomesleaderoftheIrishUnionists

1913 IrishVolunteersandCumannNamBánfounded.DublinStrikesandLock-Out

1914 FirstWorldWar(1914–1918).Americaenters1917.HomeRuleBillsuspended

1916 Easter Rising1919 WarofIndependence(1919–1921)1920 GovernmentofIrelandAct.Six-county

parliament/administrationinNorthernIreland1921 Anglo-IrishTreaty1921 JamesCraigfirstPrimeMinisterand,in1922

SpecialPowersAct–NorthernIreland1922 ProvisionalGovernmentformed1922 JamesJoyce’s(1882–1941)novelUlysses 1922 CivilWar(1922–1923).IrishFreeState1923 W.B.Yeats(1865–1939)NobelPrizeforLiterature1925 G.B.Shaw(1856–1950)NobelPrizeforLiterature1925 RemainingtenantedlandvestedinLand

Commission1926 RiotingatSeánO’Casey’s(1880–1964)The Plough

and the Stars, Abbey Theatre1929 BelfastMunicipalMuseumandArtGalleryopens

(1961,TheUlsterMuseum)

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ofthecountry:‘Irelandaboundseverywherewithnoble-men’sandgentlemen’sseats;butthesedidnotexcitemycuriositylikethenaturalbeautiesandwondersofthecountry’.5HerexperiencewasechoedbytheAmericantravellerAsenathNicholson (1792–1855),whowalkedthroughConnemarain1844,‘Myjourneylaythroughawildmountainouscountry’.Thewritingsofthesevisitorsillustratedthefactthatthemorecurioustravellersman-agedtomaketheirwaytotheremoterpartsofIreland.6 New guide books and travelmemoirs encouraged

EnglishtravellerstojourneyacrosstoIrelandduringthenineteenthcentury,whenforsocialandpoliticalreasonstherewasmuchcontactbetweenthecountries.Newillustratedguidebooks,suchasHenryD.Inglis’s(1795–1835)A Journey through Ireland throughout the Spring, Summer and Autumn of 1834 (1835),containedmapstohelpthevisitor.JohnBarrow’s(1808–1898)Tour Round Ireland, through the Seacoast Counties, in the Autumn of 1835 (1836)isconsideredthefirsttravelnarrativeillus-tratedbyaprofessionalpainter,DanielMaclise(1806–1870). The Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland(1840)byN.P. WillisandJ.StirlingCoynecontainedoveronehundredandfourteenimagesofantiquitiesandtownviewsillus-tratedbyWilliamHenryBartlett(1809–1854).Oneofthemostwell-knownbookswasthecomprehensivethree-volumetravelnarrativebyMrandMrsSamuelC.Hall,entitled Ireland: Its Scenery, Character Etc. (1841–1843).TheHallswereaccompaniedbytheEnglishdraughts-man,FrederickWilliamFairholt(1814–1866)ontheirtour.Theyemployedeighteenartiststoillustratetheirguides,fromwhichtheNationalGalleryofIrelandholdsnineengravings.Photographyinthelatenineteenthcenturyalsoformedanimportantrecordofviewscreatedforthecommercialpostcardmarket.TheLawrence,Eason,Valentine,PooleandWynnecollections(NationalLibraryofIreland),withphotographsforpostcards,includesacollectionofcolourphotographsbyMmesMespouletandMignonfromParisshowingtheimpoverishedlivingconditionsintheWestin1913.7

FredericWilliamBurton(1816–1900),Paddy Conneely, (d.1850), a Galway Piper. Graphite and watercolour on paper, 34.3 x 26 cm. Bequeathed, Miss Annie Callwell, 1904. NGI.6036

The pipes, fiddle and flute overtook the harp as a popular instrument by the early nineteenth century. Music was played everywhere: public houses, fairs, farm kitchens, crossroads and the best drawing rooms. Burton painted Paddy Conneely, the celebrated piper, about 1840, at the time that Petrie was meeting the piper to transcribe his music. Conneely may be in his late 30s or early 40s and he plays a set of Uilleann pipes. While editor of The Irish Penny Journal, Petrie featured a leading article on 3 October 1840, entitled ‘Paddy Coneely, The Galway Piper’, which was illustrated by an engraving of this watercolour.

CuriosityaboutIreland:GuideBooks, TravelMemoirsCuriosityabout thepicturesqueareasof thecountryis what traditionally attracted artists and travellersto Ireland.Topographical viewsofplaces likePower-scourtWaterfall,Co.WicklowandtheLakesofKillar-ney,Co.Kerryexisted,togetherwithabodyoffinelateeighteenth-centurylandscapepaintings.TheWestwasveryremoteatthistime.Gradually, throughpracticalactivities,suchasthearchaeologicalsurveyofConnachtundertakenbytheantiquariansGabrielBerangerandAngeloMariaBigariin1779,artistsweredrawntothearea.4Travelwasaidedbynewguidebooksanddirec-

tories, including the Antiquities of Ireland 2 Vols (1791and1797)acollaborationbetweenFrancisGroseandEdwardLedwich,withdrawingsbyavarietyofartists; Cromwell’sExcursions through Ireland (1820);andGeorgeNewen-hamWright’sguidespublishedinthe1820sand1830s.AsIrishauthorsandwriterswithIrishconnections,in-cludingMaria Edgeworth, SydneyOwenson, ThomasMaturine,theBanimBrothers,ThomasMoore,WilliamCarleton,ThomasCroftonCrokerandtheartistSamuelLover,gainedpublicreputations,attentionwasdrawntoIrishhistoryandfolklore.AnnePlumptre(1760–1818),anearlynineteenth-centuryEnglishvisitor,noticedthedifferencebetweenthelandedestatesandwilderparts

JamesArthurO’Connor(1792–1841),A View of Lough Mask. Oil on canvas, 42 x 71 cm. Purchased 1970. NGI.4013

This panoramic view of Lough Mask and surrounding countryside is one of four paintings of Ballinrobe c.1818–19, that illustrate O’Connor’s self-taught style of finely painted picture surface and precise brushwork. It is one of a number of works that show O’Connor’s early appreciation of the wild beauty of the West of Ireland.

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InterestintheWest:IrishandOverseasPaintersAlthoughthenineteenthcenturywasaperiodofunrestandturbulenceontheContinent,arisingfromtheimpactoftheFrenchRevolutionandotherconflicts,itwasatimeofrelativepoliticalstabilityinIreland,despitetherecentFamine.SincethefoundationoftheOldWatercolourSo-cietyinLondonin1805,EnglishpaintershadbeenavidlyexploringthelandscapeofEngland,ScotlandandWales,andtravellingtoIrelandseemedtobeanaturalprogres-sion.TherehadbeenearliervisitsbyBritishartiststoIreland:CorneliusVarley(1781–1873)camein1808attheinvitationofLadyOliviaSparrowofTanderageeCastle,Co. Armagh (see NGI.19624),andhemayhavevisitedonotheroccasions;GeorgeFennellRobson(1788–1833)paintedinCountyKerrybetween1828and1832,andwasincontactwithPetrie;whileMariaSpilsbury(1776–1820),whomarriedJohnTaylorin1809,movingtoDublinin1810,

PaulHenry(1876–1958),Launching the Currach,1910–11.Oil on canvas, 41 x 60 cm. Purchased 1968. NGI.1869. © Estate of Paul Henry. All rights reserved, IVARO, 2014

An early Achill scene painted at a time when figures were his main preoccupation, Henry observed the difficult life of the fishermen heaving their currach, heavy with fishing nets, into the oncoming tide. Achill was the defining moment of his career and his portrayal of the Western landscape came to represent the image of the West of Ireland.

TransportandCommunicationsTravel through theWestof Ireland in theearlynine-teenthcenturywaslimitedbythelackofroads.Peoplejourneyedthroughtheroughterrainonfoot,onhorse-backorbyboat.In1813,theScottishengineerAlexanderNimmo(1783–1832)beganworkinginConnemara,andfrom1820hemanagedarangeoffamine-reliefschemesthatinvolvedbuildingpiersaroundtheGalwaycoast-line,foundingthevillageofRoundstoneanddevelop-ing carriage roads from Oughterard to Clifden and from MaamCrosstoLeenane,therebyopeninguptheareato transport and communication. From the early tomid-nineteenthcentury,Bianconi’sregularhorse-drawncoachescarriedpassengersallover the country, includ-ingaroutefromGalwaytoClifden.OtherfactorsthatopeneduptheareaincludedthemappingundertakenbytheOrdnanceSurveyofIreland(1824),theactivitiesoftheBoardofWorks/OPW(1831)andtheexplorationsoftheGeologicalSurveyofIreland(1845).GeorgePetrie(1790–1866)wasapivotalfigureinhisroleasheadofplacenamesandantiquitiesat theOrdnanceSurvey.Petriewasappointedheadofthetopographicalsectionbetweenc.1833–1846andranhisofficefromhishomeinGreat Charles Street, Dublin. A team of scholars and art-iststranslatedandrecordedthegeology,placenamesandarchaeologyofIreland,withillustrationsoftheland-scapebyAndrewNicholl,FrancisDanby,GeorgeVictorduNoyerandW.F.Wakeman.Mapswerealsoimportantinnavigatingroutes.Thetopographicalmaps(6inchesto1mile,1:10,560)completedbytheSurvey,countybycounty,between1832to1846,werenotablyattentivetoantiquities.Therailwaynetworkwasanothermajordevelopment.

Followingtheopeningofthefirstrailwayin1834fromDublin to Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire), different com-paniesopeneduplinesanditwasagreatbonuswhentheGreatMidlandWesternRailwaylinetoGalwaywasextendedin1895toClifden,andin1895fromWestportto Achill.8ThepublicationofThe Nation, aweeklynews-paperfoundedbyThomasDavisandfellowYoungIre-landersin1842,mayhavewidenedinterestduetothepaper’scoverageofliteratureandculturalevents.Pet-

riewasacontributortothepaperandFredericBurtoncompletedthefrontispieceforThe Spirit of the Nation in 1845.9Prints,broadsides,journalsandnewspaperskeptpeopleinformedandcouldbespottedonthewallsoron dressers in the interiors of many Irish cottages. The latenineteenth-centurypoetandfolkloristSeumasMac-Manus(1869–1960)noted,‘Theyweretheeverydayread-ing of Donegal’.10Themid-centuryimpactoftheGreatFamine(1845–1850)changedmuchinIrishlifethroughdeathandemigration. Itwas recordedby theartistsAloysiusO’KellyandJamesMahony(1810–1879)forthe Illustrated London News. The construction of roads as a famine-reliefmeasurewasalsoundertakenduringthistime.MountingtheDublin InternationalExhibitionofArt-Industryin1853wasaninitiativetotrytoimprovetheeconomyandrestoretheconfidenceofthepeople.

NathanielHoneII(1831–1917),The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, c.1890.Watercolour with white highlights. Bequeathed, Mrs Hone, The Artist’s Widow, 1919. NGI .3374

It is likely that Hone toured the remote areas of counties Sligo, Mayo and Clare by train. His only employment was for a short time as an engineer on the Midland Great Railway. Having undertaken landscape and sea studies on a visit to Co. Clare c. 1890, this watercolour shows his fascination with the Altantic Ocean, in a dramatic portrayal of the famous cliffs of Moher.

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Whiteboy (1835–36),alsoentitledThe Peep-o’-Day Boys’ Cabin (Edgeworthexpressedmixedviewsoverthein-terpretationofthiswork),and The Irish Whiskey Still (1836and1840).Bothworks,exhibitedattheRoyalAcademy,wouldhaveservedtodrawattentiontotheWestofIre-land.In1836,encouragedbythesalesofhispaintings,EvansexhibitedotherworksinLondondevelopedfromsketchesmadeinConnemaraaroundMaam,RenvyleandKillary.EvansreturnedtoIrelandin1838togathermaterialforexhibitions,continuingtotakecaretode-pictthelocalpeopleandtheirlandscapewithsensitivity,andshowinghisworkattheOldWatercolourSociety.AnumberofthesedrawingswereusedbytheHallstoillustratetheir1843guidebook.Theportfolioofforty-onewatercolourdrawingsbyEvans,relatingtohis1838Connemaratrip,waspurchasedbytheNationalGalleryofIrelandin2008,fromadescendentofThomasGam-bierParry(1816–1888),whoacquiredthemfromtheart-ist.Evans’sawarenessofcontemporaryartistsmayhavebeenduetohisknowledgeofPetrie,LoverorBurton,whosketchedinConnemarabetween1838and1840,andwhoseA Clare Peasantwasexhibitedat theRHA in1838.Themid to later nineteenth century witnessed an

increase in overseas painters visiting Ireland, whomayhavebeeninfluencedbytravelguidesortheIrishsubjectsexhibitedattheOldWatercolourSocietyandRoyalAcademyamongothervenues.ThesestimulatedfurtherincursionsbyBritishartistsinthe1840s,includ-ingFrederickGoodall(1822–1909),AlfredDowningFripp(1822–1895)andFrancisWilliamTopham (1808–1877),threeartists,whoeachinhisownway,depictedwithrealismthetoughlifestyleofthepeople.Manyofthevisitingartists,while interested ingenresubjectmat-ter,particularlyifitelicitedsympathy,avoideddepict-ing issues such as poverty, destitution or agrarianconflict. This is understandablewithin a nineteenth-century search for picturesque imagery, when art-ists were concerned with painting subject pictures and landscapes thatwould appeal to the expandingnineteenth-centuryartmarket.TheScottishartistErskine Nicol(1825–1904), journeyedtoIrelandregularlyfrom

1846onwardsandhadastudioinCountyWestmeath.HevisitedtheWestinthemidtolate1850spaintingarangeoffigurativesubjectsinGalwayandConnemara.Although known for his humorous themes and Irishgenrescenes,intendedforabroadcommercialappeal,hisportrayalofseriouspoliticalandtopicalsubjectspro-videdanenduringpresenceintheEdinburgh,Londonand Dublin art scene. The English painterGeorgeWashington Brownlow

(1835–1876),travelledtoConnemarainthe1880s,includ-ingatriptotheAranIslands,theresultsofwhichheshowedattheRHA,RoyalSocietyofBritishArtists,and

SadbhTrínseach(1891–1918),Claude Chavasse Teaching an Irish Class on Achill Island, Co. Mayo, 1913–14.Charcoal on paper, 55.7 x 77.3 cm. Presented, Mrs D, Coffey, 1966. NGI.3812

Francis Trench was born in Liverpool of Irish parents and educated on the Continent. A fervent nationalist, she was known as Sadbh Trínseach when she became an artist. In 1911 she attended Irish college in Keel, Achill. This charcoal drawing shows Claude Chavasse, who had learned the language, teaching Irish on Achill. Preserving the Irish language would become important in the new state. Trínseach died aged twenty-four from the great flu.

documentedruralanddomesticlifeinearlynineteenth-century Ireland.11JamesArthurO’ConnorpaintedintheWestofIreland,andfromthe1820s,Petriewasacon-stantpresenceintouchwithartists, includingSamuelLoverandFredericBurton.Petrie showednumerous

WesternsubjectsattheRHAbetween1827and1858.Thisbriefoutlinedoesnot includeall theartistswhopaintedintheWest.TheIrishartistSamuelLover(1797–1868)visitedthe

Westbetweenthe1820sand1840spaintingscenesofrurallife,includingthekelpgatherersinConnemara.Hisantiquarian landscapespublishedintheDublin Penny Journalwerereprintedas Ireland Illustratedin1845.LoverwouldbecomeasuccessfulfigureinLondon.TheEnglishdrawingmasterWilliamEvansofEton(1798–1877),vis-itedIrelandinthesummerof1835,andmayhaveusedInglis’s A Journey through Ireland toplanhistrip,fillinghissketchbookwithWestofIrelandscenes.Hesubse-quentlyshowedtheseattheOldWatercolourSociety’sannualexhibition,allofwhichsold.In1835,duringthesamesummerthatEvansvisitedIreland,theScottishart-istDavidWilkie(1785–1841)touredthecountrybetweenAugustandSeptember,usingDublinasaspringboardtotravelfromMayothroughConnemaratoKerry,visit-ingMarieEdgeworthenrouteinEdgeworthstown,Co.Longford.WhileinterestedintheartisticpotentialoftheWest,hewasshockedbythepoverty.Theoutcomeofhistripwasanumberofworks,includingThe Sleeping

WilliamEvans(1798–1877),Buttermilk Lane, Galway, 1838.Watercolour and graphite with white highlights on paper, 58.8 x 43 cm. Purchased 2008. NGI 2008.36.25

Evans’ watercolour studies of 1835 and 1838 describe an area not well represented at that time by drawings. The English artist’s second trip found him in Galway on 17 August 1838. Evans depicts a city where the late fifteenth-century lane still survives, preserving much of its medieval plan and buildings, showing a colourful lively scene of women selling produce in the busy lane.

HarryClarke(1889–1931),Landscape by the Coast,1910.Oil on panel, 14 x 35 cm. Purchased 1982. NGI.4358

Clarke first visited the Aran Islands in 1909 inspired by the writings of J.M. Synge. Over his following five summer trips, he stayed with the Conneely family on Inisheer. In August 1910, he did a number of landscape studies, this one seemingly taken from the island, looking towards Fanore on the north-east coast of County Clare.

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Theirsportsandentertainmentincludedhorseracing,hurlingandGaelicfootball,andlisteningtotheseanchítelling stories, and singing and dancing to musicians at localceílí.WhilepeoplespokeIrish,attendedreligiousservicesandpassedtheircustomsfromonegenerationtothenext,hispaintingsshowhowtheywereconstantlychallengedwiththeonlyalternativebeingemigration.Yeats’sportrayalof this lifestyleand recordof somepoliticaleventsillustratedthetransitionfromthelatenineteenthcenturythroughtothenewstate,asthepat-tern of interest in the Western lifestyle continued into thetwentiethcentury.

IssuesofNationalIdentityandIdentitiesWhentheLiteraryRevivalemergedattheendofthenine-teenthcentury,poetsandplaywrightssuchasGeorgeRussell,W.B.Yeats,LadyGregoryandJ.M.Syngelookedtowardsnativethemesforinspirationastheywerecon-sideredimportanttothoseinvolvedinIrishculturallife.Bytheturnofthecentury,theWestanditstraditionalcultureformedanexpressionofanationalidentitythathad rural,pastoralandancientCelticovertones.Theearlytwentiethcentury,however,wasatimeofpoliti-calunrest in Ireland.TheEasterRising(1916)beganachainofeventsthatculminatedinthecreationoftheIrishFreeStateandthestateofNorthernIreland.14 The brilliant IrishdraughtsmanWilliamOrpen (1878–1931)viewedWesternsubjectmatterfromamoreambigu-ousperspective.HisThe Holy Well(1916)(NGI.4030)por-traysatraditional‘patternday’,whenpeoplegatheredtoprayataholysiteassociatedwithalocalsaint;inthisinstance,thelocationisanislandofftheWestofIreland.ThepaintingisfullofincongruitiesandwasoneofthreepicturescreatedbyOrpenbetween1913and1916, toexpresshiscomplexfeelingsaboutIrelandanditsas-sociationwithWesternculture.TheAmericanpainterRobertHenri(1865–1929)visitedAchillIslandbetween1913and1928,creatingaseriesofaccomplishedWesternportraits.AnothervisitorwastheEnglishpainterGeraldL.Brockhurst(1890–1978),wholivedinIrelandbetweenc.1915to1920,whenhepaintedaseriesoffineportraitsset in thebackgroundofConnemara.Thepatternof

theBritishInstitution,promotingawarenessoftheaes-theticpotentialofIreland.TheAmericanpainterHowardHelmick(1845–1907)whowasinIrelandinthe1870sand1880s,settlinginGalwayforatime,wasfascinatedwithIrishcountrylife,whichheportrayedinruralsubjectsanddetailedinteriorsofmodestlycomfortablepeople.Contemporary with him was Josephine Lizzie Cloud(fl.1870–1880s),anAmericanartistandwriterbasedinGalway,whotravelledinConnemarabetweenthe1870sand1880ssketchingtoillustratearticlesthatshewrote.12 TheEnglishpainterErnestA.Waterlow(1850–1919)jour-

GeraldL.Brockhurst(1890–1978),Irish Peasants,1916.Pen, brush and ink, 54 x 36.8 cm. Presented, Friends of the National Collections, 2013. NGI.2013. © The Artist’s Estate.

The English artist visited Ireland in the early twentieth century where he created images of rural people, this one dated 1916. The central figure looks directly out while the woman in a black shawl casts her eyes down. The graphically defined portrait is an unsentimental image of Western people with weathered faces set against the landscape of Galway and Connemara.

JackB.Yeats(1871–1957),A Cleric,1913.Oil on board, 36.3 x 23.3 cm. Presented, the Executors of the late Mr W. Cadbury, 1966. NGI.1804. © Estate of Jack B. Yeats. All rights reserved, DACS, 2014

An early oil by Yeats, this is one of twelve portraits painted to illustrate George Birmingham’s book Irishmen All (1913). The cleric, a man of authority and compassion with a sympathetic air, walks the roads of his parish, noting building works, observing activity on the quay with Ben Bulben in the background. Artist and author had a similar approach, which accorded with Yeats’s illustrations rooted in the West of Ireland.

neyedtothewestcoastinthe1880spaintinganumberofimportantConnemarascenes,includingapictureofapilgrimagetoStMacDara’sIslandtomarkthesaint’sfeastday.WilliamHenryBartlett,whoillustratedWillisand Coyne’s Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland,spentaconsiderabletimeinIrelandpaintinginConnemaraandCountyMayobetweenthe1870sand1890s.Hisgenuineinterestinthepeoplewasillustratedinhiscarefulpor-trayalofaspectsoftheirhardlifestyle.Inthelaternine-teenthcentury,ahostofartistsshowedaninterestinWesternsubjects,includingPatrickVincentDuffy,Stan-hopeForbesandHarryJonesThaddeus.In1889,Cork-bornThaddeus(1860–1929)producedasceneofAn Irish Eviction, Co. Galway,viewedfromanunusualperspective–thatoftheinhabitantsbeingattackedpriortoeviction.Whileremarkableforitsemotionalanddescriptivepow-er,itconveysasenseofempathywiththevictimswhoaredefendingtheirownhome.ThiswasverydifferenttothesocietyportraitsforwhichThaddeuswassowellknown.ItwasexhibitedattheRHAin1890,notlongaftertheestablishmentoftheLandLeague.Graphicimagesofevictionsfromthelate1880sinphotographsandinprintsillustratedinjournalsalsoreflectedconcernsoverlandownershipandtenancy,highlightingcasualtiesofthe landwarsduringacenturyoftraumaintheIrishcountryside.13 In1905,theartistJackB.Yeats(1871–1957)accompa-

nied JohnMillingtonSynge(whohadvisitedtheAranIslands in1898and1899)onatourof theCongestedDistrictsareaofsouthConnemaraandMayomakingil-lustrations for Synge’s articles for the Manchester Guard-ian. Yeats’sfirstworkexhibitedattheRHAwasthewa-tercolour The Strand Races, West of Ireland(1895).HisfirstexhibitionofIrishimagery,Sketches of Life in the West of Ireland, wasin1899.ThatyearhevisitedCoolePark,thehomeofLadyGregory,andmetkeyfiguresoftheIrishLiteraryRevival.PaulHenry(1876–1958)developedanindividualstyleoflandscapepaintingthatalsobecameemblematicoftheWestofIreland.However,Yeats’sex-tensiveoutputportrayedthesituationofmostWesternpeople,wholivedadifficultexistencewithlargefami-liessurvivingonsmallholdingsbyfarmingorfishing.

emigrationcontinued into the twentiethcenturyandfeaturedinsocialrealistpaintingsbyKeating,MacGoni-galandinworksbyLambandDillon.TheEnglishartistElizabethRivers (1902–1964) livedontheAranIslands

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stylesdepictedinthisbookdisappeared.Inmanyways,theearlierpaintingscapturetheatmosphereandsenseofaplaceexperiencingarapidlyvanishingworld.Inspiteofthis,adeeprootedconvictioncontinuestolingerthattheWestisassociatedwithconceptsofIrishauthenticityandidentity.Thisvisionremainscentraltotheresponseofmanyartistswhofindnewwaystoinvesttheirworkwithacontemporaryrelevancethatistestimonytotheongoing attraction of the West of Ireland.

NiallNaessens(b.1961),Rain over a Bog, after Emil Nolde, 1997.Etching on velin arche blanc paper, Sheet 65.5 x 50 cm (plate 29.3 x 29.6 cm). Commissioned, National Gallery of Ireland, 1995. NGI.20883. © Niall Naessans.

This print, inspired by Nolde’s watercolour Rain over a Marsh (NGI.7767), was commissioned as part of a series for an NGI exhibition Art into Art (1998), created by invited artists and members of Graphic Studio Dublin, inspired by the NGI collection. In the 1990s, Dublin artist Niall Naessens often drew in the area between Roundstone and Clifden. Fascinated by the ever-changing Western skies, the key to the success of this work, he visualised this scene taking place in a bog of inner Connacht.17

1 H.Pyle.Jack B. Yeats: Life in the West of Ireland – as it Was. Dublin2003.

2 B.Hobson(Ed.).Saorstát Eireann, Irish Free State Official Handbook. Dublin1932.

3 T.Robinson.‘AConnemaraFractal’inDecoding the Landscape, byT.Collins(Ed.).Galway1994,reprinted1997.

4 P.Harbison.‘Our Treasures of Antiquities’, Beranger and Bigiari’s Sketching Tour of Connaught in 1779.Bray2002.

5 A.Plumptre.Narrative of a Residence in Ireland during the Summer of 1814 and that of 1815. London1817.p.215

6 A.Nicholson.Ireland’s Welcome to the Stranger. London1847.p.3717 ForinformationonIrishartcontacttheNGICentrefortheStudy

ofIrishArt:csai@ngi.ie.ForinformationontheNationalGalleryofIreland’scollectionseewww.nationalgalllery.ie/collection.

8 Bicyclesprovidedusefultransportintheearlytwentiethcentury.9 BalladsandsongswrittenbywritersofThe Nationwererepublished

as Spirit of the Nationin1845.AttherequestofThomasDavis(1814–1845),Burtonundertookthefrontispiece.

10 S.MacManus.The Rocky Road to Dublin. NewYork1938.pp.141–42.11 TheNGIPrintsandDrawingsRoomhousessketchbooksbyMaria

SpilsburyTayloramongitscollections.12 JosephineLizzieCloud(signingherselfasMissorMrs)seemsto

havebeenthenomdeplumeofMrsElizabethC.WatersfromPhiladelphia,anartistandpublisherofillustratedarticles.

13 TheLawrenceCollection:400,000glassplatenegativesdating1870–1914,byWilliamM.LawrenceofSackvilleStreet,Dublin.HisphotographerRobertFrenchtookpicturesofevictions,whichwerepackagedas60glasslanternslidesin1890.

14 TheFirstWorldWar(1914–1918)affectedIrelandinamajorway.15 In1902,EvelynGleesonestablishedacraftstudioatDundrumnear

Dublin,calledDunEmerPress-Industries(c.1902–1908)specialisinginprintingandothercraftsandinvitedElizabethandhersisterLilyYeatstojoinher.In1908theCualaPress-Industrieswassetup(followingasplitfromGleeson)byElizabethYeatstogetherwithLilyYeats,heavilysupportedbytheirbrotherWilliamButlerYeats.

16 TheIrishExhibitionofLivingArtArchivewasdonatedin2001bythefamilyofartistAnneYeats,daughterofW.B.Yeats,toNIVAL,NationalCollegeofArtandDesign.ItdocumentsYeats’stimeassecretaryfortheIELA(1947–1971).

17 MarieBourkeinconversationwiththeartist,July2014.

intermittentlybetween1935and1943andherStranger in Aran wasthelastbookpublishedbytheCualaPress(1946).15HerstaycoincidedwiththeSecondWorldWar(1939–1945),whenIrelandremainedneutral,althoughitimpactedonthecountry.WhiletheworkssheproducedillustrateheraffectionfortheWest,Riverswasconsciousofherstatusasanoutsider.Thesenseofawarenessofbeingdifferentandapart,lookingattheWestfromanotherperspective,wasexperiencedbymanyofthe

artistsinthisbook,includingHenry,LambandGerardDillon(1916–1971),whoillustratedhisdistinctiveimpres-sion in The Little Green Fields(c.1946–1950).TheWestbecameaplacesymbolicoftheessenceor

soulofIreland.Thisconcepthelpedtoshapepopularviews of an idyllic, pastoral andwholesome countrymatchingthepoliticalconstructofthegovernmentinthenewlyindependentstate,evenasnewdevelopmentswereimpactingonruralhouseholdsandlifestyles.TheiconographyofWesternlandscapes–blueskies,white-washedthatchedcottages,greenfields,stonewallsandthesea–becameemblematicofthenewstate’sculturalidentity.This inspiredaviewthatbecamerecognisedas ‘the’ image of rural Ireland, promoted by succes-sivegovernments,athomeandabroad.Theadventofmodernism in art only gained momentum here in the mid-twentiethcentury. In 1943 the IrishExhibitionofLivingArtwassetuptoaddresstheneedforawiderexplorationofcontemporaryIrishartanditinvolvedthemodernpaintersEvieHone(1894–1955),MainieJellett(1897–1944),NorahMcGuinness(1901–1980)andLouisleBrocquy(1916–2012).16ModernismgraduallyovertookthisviewofruralIrelandandmanyoftheWesternlife-

SeánKeating(1889–1977),A Seascape with Figures, 1930s.Oil on board, 46 x 62 cm. Presented, Haverty Trust, 1956. NGI.1330. © Estate of Seán Keating. All rights reserved, IVARO, 2014.

In 1914, Harry Clarke suggested that the Limerick artist visit the Aran Islands, as a result of which the people of Aran and the western seaboard featured in his work for the remainder of his career. The isolation of the islanders is emphasised by the lone figure of the woman who gazes towards Galway. Their lifestyle is seen in the fishing boats, called hookers, moored alongside the pier that were used for fishing and transporting turf to and from the islands.

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ThefollowingseriesofpaintingsillustratehowtheWestbecameasignificantplaceforIrishartistsinthenine-teenthandtwentiethcenturies.Nineteenth-centurypainters, suchas JamesArthur

O’Connor,GeorgePetrie,FredericWilliamBurtonandBartholomewCollesWatkins,wantedtocapturealand-scapeandawayoflifethatwasnewtotheireyesandneeded tobe recorded.Laterpainters, includingNa-thanielHone,AugustusBurke,AloysiusO’Kelly,WalterOsborneandHarryClarke,recognisedthatthislifestylewasrareenoughinaEuropeancontext; itwasdisap-pearingfast,andtheysawitsvisualqualitiesfromtheperspectiveof realistpainters.SadbhTrínseach,PaulHenry, JackB.Yeats,SeánKeatingandCharlesLambsoughttocapturetheessenceofawayoflifethattheyperceivedwasclosertoanauthenticIrishidentity.Ge-rard Dillon and Maurice MacGonigal felt nostalgia for a patternoflifedefinedbytheclimateandtheseasonsthatwasincontrasttotheincreasedindustrialisationoftheperiod.LilianDavidson,KittyWilmerO’BrienandMainie Jellettuseddifferentstylesand techniques toconveyitsspecialness,justasitbecametheauthenticsettingforaportraitofNoelBrownebyRobertBallaghandaparticularplaceforNiallNaessans.

JamesArthurO’Connor(1792–1841),The Mill, Ballinrobe, c.1818

GeorgePetrie(1790–1866),Pilgrims at Saint Brigid’s Well, Liscannor, Co. Clare,c.1829–30

FredericWilliamBurton(1816–1900),In Joyce Country (Connemara, Co. Galway),c.1840

FredericWilliamBurton(1816–1900),The Aran Fisherman’s Drowned Child,1841

AugustusBurke(c.1838–1891),A Connemara Girl

BartholomewCollesWatkins(1833–1891),A View of the Killaries, from Leenane

AloysiusO’Kelly(1853–1936),Mass in a Connemara Cabin, c.1883

WalterFrederickOsborne(1859–1903),A Galway Cottage, c.1893

JackB.Yeats(1871–1957),The Country Shop,c.1912

PaulHenry(1876–1958),The Potato Diggers,1912

JackB.Yeats(1871–1957),Before the Start,1915

CharlesVincentLamb(1893–1964),Loch an Mhuilinn, c.1930s

LilianLucyDavidson(1879–1954),Fashions at the Fair,c.1940s

MainieJellett(1897–1944),Achill Horses,1941

JackB.Yeats(1871–1957),Men of Destiny,1946

GerardDillon(1916–1971),The Little Green Fields, c.1946–50

KittyWilmerO’Brien(1910–1982),Near Westport, Co. Mayo

MauriceMacGonigal(1900–1979),Early Morning, Connemara (Mannin Bay),c.1965

RobertBallagh(b.1943),Portrait of Noel Browne (1915–1997), Politician,1985

The West as a Significant Place for Irish Artists

22 23

GeorgePetrie(1790–1866),Pilgrims at Saint Brigid’s Well, Liscannor, Co. Clare, c.1829–30Watercolouronpaper,18.5x26cm.Bequeathed,

MissM.Stokes,1900.NGI.2381.

StBrigid’sWellatLiscannor,Co.ClareisoneofanumberofIrishholywellsassociatedwithStBrigidofKildare,one of Ireland’s patron saints. Thewell is a popularsiteofpilgrimagewithgreatnumberstravellingfromacrossClareandtheAranIslandstoparticipateinthetraditionalLughnasafestivalonthelastSundayofJuly(orfirstSundayinAugust).Petrieshowsthewellfromacrossanarrowstream.AnumberofpilgrimsperformthevariousstagesoftheRitesassociatedwiththewell;somekneelinprayerwhileotherscirclethewell,whichismarkedbyastandingstoneinscribedwithacross.Thewellisdepictedinitsoriginallocationbeforebeingmovedtoamoreconvenientsitein1853,whereitre-mainstoday.Petriewasoneofacircleofscholars,anti-quariansandartistswho,fascinatedbyIrishhistoryandfolklore,touredthecountrystudyinganddocumenting

itssceneryandantiquities.Thisisoneofhismanywater-coloursdepictinglocationsofIrishculturalsignificanceandisatypicalexampleofhisapproachtopainting.Al-thoughromanticandsentimentalinstyle,hisworkwasaccurateinitsrepresentationofthesubjectmatter.

GeorgePetrie(1790–1866)BorninDublin,hewasthesonofJamesPetrie,portrait-istandminiaturepainter.TrainedattheDublinSocietyDrawingSchools,hewasattractedtolandscapepaintingandwentonhisfirstsketchingtourinWicklowin1808.HewasfascinatedwithIrishhistoryandantiquity,whichbecamethepredominantsubjectmatterofhiswaterco-lours.Hepublishedcollectionsofdrawingsandprints,andillustratedguidebookspromotingIreland’sculturalhistory. As a member of the Royal Irish Academy and oneofthefoundersofitsmuseum,hehelpedtoformthehistoriccollectionsthatwouldconstitutethecoreoftheIrishAntiquitiesCollectionsatthenewNationalMuseum(1890).In1828hebecamethefirstwatercolour-isttobecomeaRoyalHibernianAcademicianandlaterPresident of the Academy. DM

JamesArthurO’Connor(1792–1841), The Mill, Ballinrobe,c.1818Oiloncanvas,42x71cm.Purchased1970.NGI.4011.

TheartistvisitedWestport in 1817. In 1818–19hewascommissionedtopaintfouraspectsoftheBridgeHouse,Ballinrobe,Co.Mayo for theowner,CourtneyKenny.TheyfitintohisearlyWesterntopographicallandscapesthatincludedWestport,togetherwithBallinrobehouse,thepleasuregrounds,itsmill,LoughMaskandthede-mesne.O’Connor’smethodthroughouthislifewastododetaileddrawingsonthespot.ThispaintingshowsBallinrobemillandsurroundingslocatedontheedgeoftheRiverRobe,infrontofwhichisawoodenfoot-bridge.Therightsideofthepictureappearsinshadowwithdarkclouds,treesandfoliage,incontrasttotheleft,whichisbathedinlight,pickingoutO’Connor’strade-marksmallfiguressailingapuntacrosstheriver.FinelypaintedGothicruinsandachurchsteeplearevisibleonthehorizon,withthemilllocatedontheriveredge,form-ingpartofastructureofbuildingswithwhiteroofs.An

atmosphereofcalmpervadesthesceneenhancedbythereflectionoftreesandGothicruinsonthewater,servingtoconveytheimpressionofnatureinharmonywiththeelements.WhileoneofanumberofpaintingsanddrawingsexecutedinCountyMayo,adecadelater,about1828,O’ConnorwouldpaintinConnemaraillus-tratinghisearlyappreciationoftheruggedlandscapeofthe West of Ireland.

JamesArthurO’Connor(1792–1841) Born inDublin,O’Connorwasmainly self-taught.HebecamefriendlywiththeartistsGeorgePetrieandFran-cisDanbyandtheywent together toLondon in1813.O’Connorreturned,remaininginIrelandworkingasalandscapepainterovertenyears.In1822hemovedbacktoLondonexhibitingattheRoyalAcademyandtheSo-cietyofBritishArtists.In1826hetravelledforayeartoBrussels.In1832hewenttoParisandtravelledthrough-outGermanythefollowingyear.O’Connor’sfinelypaint-edlandscapesandtopographicalviewsdevelopedintothenewertasteforRomanticlandscapepainting.

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FredericWilliamBurton(1816–1900), The Aran Fisherman’s Drowned Child,1841Watercolouronpaper,88.4x78.5cm.Bequeathed,Miss

AnnieCallwell,1904.NGI.6048.

Burton’stimeintheWestofIreland(1838–1841)resultedindrawingsandpaintings,includingThe Blind Girl at the Holy Well(1839),andThe Aran Fisherman’s Drowned Child (1841).HeexecutedoverfiftystudiesfortheAran Fish-erman togetherwithapreliminarywatercoloursketchshowingthe father inamorenaturalpose.Althoughthere is no record of his visiting the Aran Islands atthistime,hemayhavedonesowithPetrie.Thisfinelypaintedwatercolourdepictsahauntingsceneofsorrow-fulparents,whoaregatheredaroundthefigureoftheirdeadchild.Inthebackgroundthekeenerscanbeseenbeginning thepatternofmourning.As theartistwasanantiquaryservingontheCounciloftheRoyalIrishAcademy,hegavecarefulconsiderationtotheaccuracyofthecostumes,furnitureandsetting,drawingonhisinterestinthecustomsandtraditionsofthewestofIre-land. The cabin is large and tidy in the manner of the CladdaghareaofGalway.Lightinthisdramaticsceneis

focusedonthefigureofthedistraughtfatherandfam-ily.Burton’srefinedsenseofcolourpicksoutdetailslikethewomen’sshawlsandmadder-redpetticoatsrichlypaintedinoverlappinglayersofwatercolour.Thesub-jectisinkeepingwithmid-nineteenth-centuryromanticpaintinginEurope.

FredericWilliamBurton(1816–1900)WhentheRoyalIrishArtUnion(1839–1847)selectedThe Aran Fisherman tobeengravedbyFrederickBaconinLondonin1843,itbecamethemostpopularprinttheUnioneverpublished,establishingBurton’sreputation.Thework reflected the artist’s study of theWesternpeopleandhisknowledgeoftheOldMasters.ThefirstengravingofBurton’sBlind Girl printedby theRoyalIrishArtUnionwaspresentedtoQueenVictoriain1841,and his Aran Fisherman wasnoted‘bytheadmirationitelicited’attheExhibitionoftheRoyalAcademy,London(UniversityMagazine,1842).In1863,BurtonbecameaFellowoftheRoyalSocietyofAntiquariesinLondonandin1886,anhonorarymemberoftheOldWatercolourSociety.

FredericWilliamBurton(1816–1900),In Joyce Country (Connemara, County Galway),c.1840Watercolouronpaper,25.3x36cm.Bequeathed,

MissAnnieCallwell,1904.NGI.6034.

A cluster of cottages embedded in the Connemara landscape isshownsurroundedby treesat theedgeofLoughCorribwithbluemountainsandacloudyskyinthedistance.JoyceCountryliesbetweenMaumandLeenane,theMaumturkMountainrangetothesouthandLoughCorribat the lowerend.Ayounggirl inaredpetticoatrests,whileleaningherturfcreelagainsta stonewall,beforewindingherwayhome. In 1838,GeorgePetrie,theantiquarianandtopographicalpaint-er,broughtBurtonaroundtheWestofIreland,follow-ingroutestravelledbyotherartists,leavinghimwithanabidingloveoftheWesternlandscape.LargestretchesoftheConnemaracoastweredenselypopulatedatthistimealthoughthemountainskeptitisolatedfromtherestofthecountry.BurtontravelledviaMaamCrosstoAchill,makingdrawings,notesandwatercoloursketchesenroute.Helightlyoutlinesthiswatercolourinpencil,rapidlypaintedwithdilutedwashesofcolour,applyingstrongercolourtodrawoutthefeatures,demonstrating

hisunderstandingoflightandsensitivitytothenuancesofcolour,particularlythesky,whichhepaidparticularattentiontoinhislandscapes.HisConnemarastudiesareconsideredsomeofthefinesteverproducedoftheWesternlandscape.

FredericWilliamBurton(1816–1900)Born inCorofin, Co. Clare, although records suggestBurtonmayhavebeenborninWicklow(CensusReturns1871,1891,PublicRecordOffice,London).Hisfatherwasanamateurpainterwhoencouragedhisson.BurtontrainedattheDublinSocietyDrawingSchoolsandwasapprenticedtoSamuelLover(1797–1868)beforebegin-ninghiscareerasaminiatureportraitpainter.GeorgePetrie encouragedhis involvement in theRoyal IrishAcademy.In1839hebecameanRHA.FollowingtravelsinGermany,hesettledinLondonestablishinghimselfasapainterofsubjectpicturesandportraits,hisbestknownworkThe Meeting on the Turret Stairs (1864). In1974hewasappointedDirectoroftheNationalGallery,London(1874–1894),acquiringsignificantworksfortheGallery.

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AugustusNicholasBurke(c.1838–1891), A Connemara GirlOiloncanvas,63x48cm.Presented,MrsI.Monahan,1951.

NGI.1212.

BurkeportraysayoungIrishcolleenwhogathersheath-eronahillsideoverlookingtheseainConnemara.Walk-ingbarefootedacrossuneventerrain,sheclutchesherbundletightlyasshegazes,wide-eyedbutwithalookofcalmdetermination,towardstheviewer.Theevenlybalancedcompositionandcentralplacingofthefiguregivesbothaforcefulnessandserenequalitytothisim-ageofayounggirlonaruggedheadland.BurkefirstvisitedConnemarainthe1860sandwasfamiliarwiththelandscapeanditspeople.Theinclusionofapairofmountain goats alludes to the strong connection be-tweenruralcommunitiesandtheirenvironment.Thegirl’shome-spunclothingandredshawlaretypicalofWest of Ireland costumes, and the everyday subjectmatterlendsasenseofrealismtothepicture.Itis,how-ever,adecidedlysentimentalportrayalandtypicalofagenrethatwaspopularwithurbanaudiencesinthemid-

nineteenthcentury.Thepicturealsodisplaystheartist’skeeninterestinlandscapepainting.TherangeofcoloursemployedandthelightingarecertainlyevocativeofthewesternlandscapeandatmosphereoftheAtlanticcoast.

AugustusNicholasBurke(c.1838–1891)BorninGalway,BurkeattendedschoolinEnglandandstudiedpainting inLondon,whereheremainedforanumberofyears.In1869,hereturnedtoDublindevel-opingareputationasalandscapeandsubjectpainter.HistravelsinBelgiumandtheNetherlandshadsomeinfluenceonhispaintingstyle,althoughhistriptoPont-AveninBrittany(c.1875–1876)wasmoresignificant.HisexperienceinFranceinformedhisapproachtoteachingyoungartistsattheRHAschools,whereheinstructedWalterOsborneandJosephMalachyKavanagh(1856–1918)amongothers.In1883heleftIrelandfollowingtheassassinationinthePhoenixParkofhisbrotherThomasHenry,UndersecretaryforIreland.HesettledinLondonbeforemovingtoItalywhereheremainedfortherestof his life. DM

BartholomewCollesWatkins(1833–1891),A View of the Killaries, from LeenaneOiloncanvas,32x50cm.Bequeathed,F.Moore,1909.

NGI.636.

In1875,WatkinsmadehisfirstsketchingtourofConne-mara.Overthenextfifteenyearshereturnedregularly,documentingtheruggedmountainscenery.HepaintednumerouspicturesoftheConnemaralandscapeinclud-ingthisviewofKillaryharbour,aneight-milelongfjordsurrounded bymountains, which lies on the borderofGalwayandMayo.ViewedfromthesmallvillageofLeenane,Mweelrealoomslargetotheleftwithcloudsclingingtoitspeakasitoverlookstheentrancetothefjord.ItisthehighestmountaininConnacht.FishingwasimportanttothelocalwayoflifeandWatkinsincludesafleetoffishingboatsmovingacrossthecalmwatersofthefjordtowardstheopensea.Intheforeground,menloadnetsontoawoodenboatastheypreparetodeparttocatchherring.Highlyfinishedandminutelydetailed,Watkins’picturesshowtheinfluenceofearlierIrishart-istssuchasJamesArthurO’ConnorandFrancisDanby.

However, unlikehisRomanticpredecessors,Watkinswasmotivatedbyanimpulsetopaintmoresereneandpeaceful representationsof the Irish landscape, typi-callydepictingitintranquilweatherconditions.Hewashighlyskilledatcapturingthesubtleeffectsoflightonthelandscape,exemplifiedinthisworkbythevaryingtonaleffectsandthereflectionofthemountainsonthesurfaceofthewater.Thestillnessandsenseofserenityachievedcountertheimposingpresenceoflandscapeandconveyasenseofharmonybetweenthefishermenand their surroundings.

BartholomewCollesWatkins(1833–1891)BorninDublin,WatkinsenteredtheRoyalDublinSoci-etyDrawingSchoolsin1847.Hedevelopedacareerasalandscapepainter,devotinghimselftothedepictionofmountainscenery.HewasaregularexhibitorattheRoyalHibernianAcademyfrom1860andtookanactivepartinAcademyaffairs.In1891,whileonasketchingtourinanisolatedareaofKerry,hecontractedaseverecoldanddiedbeforehelpcouldreachhim.DM

28 29

WalterFrederickOsborne(1859–1903), A Galway Cottage,c.1893Oilonpanel,30x38cm.Purchased,1903.NGI.554.

Osborne’sdarkcottageinteriorshowsanelderlycouplewarmingthemselvesbyahearth.Thewoman,inherredplaidshawlandblueskirt,facestheviewer,awoodenboxatherfeet,busywithadomesticchore.Meanwhile,hermalecompaniontendstothefire.Thedarknessoftheshadowscontrastswiththebrightnessofdaylightoutside,whichenterstheroomthroughawindow.Sun-lightilluminatesasectionofthefloorprovidingasenseoftheoutsideworldinanotherwiseshadowyinterior.ThepictureisoneofaseriesofpaintingsbyOsbornethatcaptureaspectsof life inConnemara,which theartistvisitedbetween1892and1899.InConnemarahefoundanIrishversionofthesimpleBretonrurallifestylewhosevisualqualitieshadattractedhimwhenworkinginBrittany.Hisrealisticportrayalof this Irish interiorsceneconveysasenseofhiscuriosityandinterestinthelocalpeopleandtheirlifestyle.Theabsenceofchildren

inthisscenemaybetheresultofemigration.HisuseofbroadbrushstrokesandnaturalcoloursreflectshisexperienceofFrenchrealistpaintingandfamiliaritywithmodernEuropeanaesthetics.

WalterFrederickOsborne(1859–1903)BorninDublin,thesonoftheanimalpainterWilliamOsborne,WalterattendedtheRoyalHibernianAcade-myschoolsin1872.Hewonnumerousprizes,includingtheRoyalDublinSocietyTaylorScholarshipin1881and1882,enablinghimtostudyattheAcadémieRoyaledesBeaux-Arts,Antwerp.In1883hepaintedinBrittany.In1884hemovedtoEngland,spendingnineyearspaintingruralandcoastalscenes.HereturnedtoIrelandin1893,followingthedeathofhissister.AregularexhibitorattheRHA,hebecameamemberoftheRHAin1886,andtaughtattheAcademyschools.Fromtheearly1890s,hissuccessasaportraitistgrew,thoughhecontinuedtopainturbanandrurallifescenes.HetravelledtoFrance,SpainandHolland.Hediedprematurelyin1903.DM

AloysiusO’Kelly(1853–1936), Mass in a Connemara Cabin,c.1883Oiloncanvas,framed,171x217x13cm.Onloanfromthe

peopleofStPatrick’s,EdinburghandtheTrusteesofthe

ArchdioceseofStAndrew’sandEdinburgh.NGI-L.14780.

The imageofapriestsayingmass foragatheringofpeopleinacottagedepictsanIrishcustomknownasTheStations,whichwasawayforCatholicstopractisetheirreligionattimesofoppression,whentheywereforcedtomeetinsecrecy.ThelawspreventingCatholicwor-shipwererepealedinthelateeighteenthcentury,yet,The Stations continued as a common religious and social practice.O’Kellymayportrayanewpriest,groomedtoassume his role in the Catholic Church, returning home to say an Ordination Mass for his family and neigh-bours,hisChesterfieldcoatandsilktophatonasúganchair.ItisoneofaseriesofpicturesbyO’KellydepictingtheeverydaylifeofruralcommunitiesinConnemara.Ratherthanconveyingtheharshrealitiesofexistence,ahealthydignifiedcommunityisshown,dressedintheirfinestclothes,stronglyconnectedtotheirtraditions.Acolourfuldramaticscene,thegirlsareshowninwhite

as thewomenwearplaidshawlswith redpetticoats,eachfiguredepictedindividually.Carewastakenpre-paringthehouseforthepriestandthisroomistidyandwell-furnished.Thefurnitureisrepresentedaccuratelyrevealingtheartist’skeeninterestindomesticlife,asinthecaseofthereddresserwithropemoulding.Someobjects,includingthestraineranddashchurnformak-ingbutter,reflecttheworkinglifeofthepeople.

AloysiusO’Kelly(1853–1936)BorninDublin,O’KellyattendedtheÉcoledesBeaux-ArtsinParisin1874.HeexhibitedattheRoyalAcademy,Londonbetween1874and1895,andtheRoyalHiber-nianAcademyfrom1878.In1876hevisitedPont-Aven,becominginfluencedbytheplein-airstyleofJulesBas-tien-Lepage(1848–1884),visitingagaininthe1870sand1880s.OnhisreturnhepaintedruralscenesintheWestofIreland.HisillustrationsfortheLondon Illustrated News depictedtheplightof thosestrugglingwithevictions,LandLeagueagitationandsocialinjustices.In1895,heemigrated to the United States becoming an American citizenin1901.In1926,hevisitedIreland,beforereturn-ingtoAmericawherehedied.DM

30 31

PaulHenry(1876–1958),The Potato Diggers,1912Oiloncanvas,51x46cm.Purchased,1968.NGI.1870.©Estate

ofPaulHenry.Allrightsreserved,IVARO,2014.

AchillisanislandoffCountyMayo,surroundedbytheAtlanticOceanandseparatedfromthemainlandbyanarrowsound.Livingamongtheislandersandobservingtheirwayoflifeenabledtheartisttocreateanewpicto-riallanguage.FiguresdominatehisearlyAchillpictures,including The Potato Diggers,inwhichJean-FrançoisMil-let’s(1814–1875)influenceisseeninthewomanbendingtogathernewlydugpotatoes.Thecompositionisdividedbetweentheforegroundbrownearthandbackgroundbluemountain,withacloudyskydominatingthepictureandcreatingatmosphere.Thepalettelimitedtostrongblues,redsandbrowns,isenrichedbytheredpetticoatspaintedbyHenryincarefullyappliedbrushstrokes.Theartistdepictsthelandscapeandthepeoplewithadegreeofrealismthatisdevoidofanykindofromanticism.Inbalancingthefigureswiththelandscape,Henryconveystheuniversalrelationshipofordinarypeopleworkinginacontestwithnaturethatisneverending.Hisportrayal

ofConnemarabecamesynonymouswiththeWestofIrelandandhisreputationwashugelyenhancedwhenoneofhisWesternlandscapeswasacquiredin1922,bytheMuséeduLuxembourginParis.

PaulHenry(1876–1958)BorninBelfast,HenryattendedtheBelfastSchoolofArt.In1989,hewenttoParistotrainattheAcadémieJulianandatWhistler’sAcadémieCarmen.FollowingadecadeinLondon(1900–1910),whereheworkedasanillustrator,andmarriedfellowartistGraceMitchell(1868–1933),thecoupletravelledtoCountyMayowheretheypaintedonAchillandinConnemarabetween1910and1919.HenrywascaptivatedbyAchillandthelifehefoundthere;how-ever,Gracefoundlifedifficultanditcontributedtothebreak-upoftheirmarriage.OneofthefoundersoftheSocietyofDublinPainters,heexhibitedattheRoyalHi-bernianAcademybetween1910and1958andseveralofhispictureswerereproducedastravelposters.HelatermovedtoDublin,thenWicklow,andafterthedeathofGrace,hemarriedtheartistMabelYoungandwrotetwoautobiographicalbooks.

JackBYeats(1871–1957), The Country Shop, c.1912Pen,inkandwatercolouroncard,26.6x19.5cm.Presented,

theExecutorsofW.A.Carbury,1966.NGI.3829.©Estateof

JackB.Yeats.Allrightsreserved,DACS,2014.

Theartistenjoyedillustratingthisshop,whichhesawasasmallsocialcentresimilartoapostoffice,placingthedrawingthefirstinhisbookLife in the West of Ireland (1912).Itisafascinatingfocusofactivitywitheverythingstockedonshelves,indrawersandhangingfromraftersformingavitalcentreinprovidingpeoplewiththeessen-tials,fromhob-nailedboots,ropesandlanterns,towall-paper,fabricandfood.Theowner,basedonthefigureofaMrsJordanfromBelmullet,NorthMayo,isatoughlookingproprietor,whoYeatsandSyngehadencoun-teredontheirCongestedDistrictstourin1905.Shecon-trols the situation from a tall stool behind the counter. A countrywomanisintheprocessofnegotiatingwithher,earnestlylookingatherface,assheisprobablyilliterate,tryingtounderstandwhatisbeingdiscussedaboutheraccount.Theharppositionedbehindtheowner’shead

alludestoaformofIrishnationalismthatdoesnotshowmercytoafellowcitizen.Toreinforcethispointaboutthetwistednatureofhumancharacter,Yeatspositionsamanleaningagainstthecounter,withhisbacktothefigures, listeningtowhat isbeingdiscussed,hismindontheworldbeyond.Thisisalludedtoonthemirrorhangingintheroofwhichdepictsthestreetoutside.Theman’scostumeofwoollenjacket,trousersandganseyistoppedwithawidebrimmedhatatajauntyangleasheassumestheroleofsomeoneremovedfromthesordidbusinessoftheshop.

JackB.Yeats(1871–1957)JackreturnedfromSligotolivewithhisfamilyinLondonin1887andbeganattendingArtCollege.Workingasanillustratorininkandwatercolourtaughthimtoconveyastorysuccessfully,andwhenheprogressedtooilshisstylegraduallyexpandedintoamoreexpressiveaes-thetic.Asacommercialartistheprovidedillustrationsforfortydifferentjournals,includingtheIllustrated Lon-don News. Heillustratedmanybooksandbroadsheets,includingseveralforhisfamily.

32 33

CharlesVincentLamb(1893–1964), Loch an Mhuilinn,1930sOilonboard,51x41cm.Presented,LallíLamb

deBuitléar,theartist’sdaughter,1999.NGI.4670.

©TheArtist’sEstate.

LochanMhuilinnillustratesamilllakelocatedbetweenCoranaMónaandSrutháninCarraroe,asmallpenin-sulaofftheConnemaracoast,wheretheartistandhisfamilyspenttheirlives.Thesceneistakenfromtheart-ist’sboat,whereheoftenfishedwhileobservingthelo-calpeople,includingthecustomofwashingclothesinthelake.HavingcomefromaNorthernindustrialtown,Lambwas captivated by the ever-changingWesternskies,and influencedby JohnConstable’s (1776–1837)studiesofskyandcloudformations.Thecompositionisdividedbetweenthelakeintheforeground,adeepbluehill,andaheavyovercastskyinthebackground.Thecot-tageisprominentlyplacedwithabrownturfstacklean-ingagainstastonewallinfrontofwhichisplacedtwoboats.Thefigureofawomanwashingcreatesafocusofactivity.Thepaletteislimitedtofairlyneutraltonesenlivenedbyyellow,whiteanddeepblue,andenrichedbythewoman’sredpetticoat.Thepictureispaintedina

varietyoftechniques,includingcarefullyappliedbrush-strokesandflatareasofcolour,atatimewhenLambwasexperimentingwithamorestylisedapproachtohiswork.WhilethesceneistypicalofapicturesqueviewofConnemara, inrealitytheartist’ssympathieslayindepictingtheharshlifestyleandlandscapeoftheWestof Ireland.

CharlesLamb(1893–1964)Born in Portadown, Lamb studied at Belfast SchoolofArt(1913–1917),winningascholarshiptotheDublinMetropolitanSchoolofArt(1917–1921).HesettledintheIrish-speakingdistrictofCarraroeinConnemara,wheretheideaforhisearlymajorworkoriginated,Dancing at a Northern Crossroads (1920).HevisitedBrittanyin1926to1927andGermanyin1938until1939.From1936inCarraroe,hehostedanannualexhibitionandsummerpaintingschoolforyoungartists.Knownforhisgenrescenes, landscapes and seascapespaintedmainly inConnemaraandNorthernIreland,heundertookcom-missionsforUniversityCollegeGalway,didbookillus-trations,andexhibitedattheRoyalHibernianAcademy,RoyalUlsterAcademy,andoverseas.

JackB.Yeats(1871–1957), Before the Start,1915Oiloncanvas,46x61cm.Bequeathed,MrsJ.Egan,through

theFriendsoftheNationalCollectionsofIreland,1960.

NGI.1549.©EstateofJackB.Yeats.

Allrightsreserved,DACS,2014.

Yeatshadagreatpassionforhorses,andIrishracingwasanimportantsourceofsubjectmatterforhim.Inthissmalloilpaintingof jockeyson theirmounts,hefocuseshisattentiononaspecificmoment,recordingthe acute tension and high emotion attending the start ofarace.Thethreejockeysexudedifferentbehaviour;thefigureingreenisconcentratedonthetaskahead,hiscompetitor inblue, lipspressedtogether,directlyreturnsthegazeoftheviewer,whilethejockeyinthecentreisnervousbycomparison.Thesenseoftensionisfurtheremphasisedbythetightlypackedcrowdgather-ingaroundthehorses,thejockeyssilhouettedagainstalargepalesky,andtheisolationofaflagflappinginthewind.Byelevatingthejockeysandplacingthemagainstan empty sky, Yeats affords them a heroic position

amongthepeople.Theimpressionthattheviewerisatthelevelofthespectatorsisexemplifiedbythewayinwhichasinglefigurelooksdirectlyout.Theareasofthickimpastoandbroadbrushworkinthepaintingshowtheartist’sconfidenceinusingoils.

JackB.Yeats(1871–1957)BorninLondon,thesonoftheartistJohnButlerYeats(1839–1922)andbrotherofthepoetWilliamButlerYeats(1865–1939), Jackwas sent to Sligo and raisedbyhisgrandparents.In1887,hereturnedtoLondontotrainasanartistandbeganworkingasanillustratorforthepopularpress.Inthe1890s,hebegantoestablishhisreputationandheldhisfirstexhibitionofwatercoloursin1897.FollowingregulartripstoIreland,hisfirstLife in the West of Irelandexhibitionwasheldin1899.In1910,hesettledinIrelandhavingstartedworkinginoils.Histechniqueandstyleevolvedfromitsearlygraphicori-ginstoamoreexpressionistaestheticemployingheavyimpastoandabolduseofcolour.Hisoutputincludeddrawings,paintings,illustrationsandcartoons,severalplaysandnovels.DM

34 35

MainieJellett(1897–1944), Achill Horses,1941Oiloncanvas,61x92cm.Bequeathed,

MissR.Kirkpatrick,1978.NGI.4320.©HeirsandSuccessorsof

Mainie Jellett.

TheWesternlandscapeandlifestyleprovidedthesubjectmatterforaseriesofworksbyJellett,followingavisittoAchillIslandin1936.ShewasstruckbythecolouringandatmosphereoftheWest.ThiscameayearafterviewingaChineseArtexhibitionattheRoyalAcademy.Shebeganexperimentingwith interlockingcircles, influencedbyChineseart,usingserpentineshapesinwavestoportraythelandscape.In1937shewascommissionedtopainttwomuralsonIrishrural,industrialandculturallifefor the Irish Pavilion at the British Empire Exhibition inGlasgow(1938).ThegovernmentusedthesemuralsfortheIrishPavilionattheNewYorkWorld’sFair(1939).Achill Horsesisoneofherlatestudies,inwhichthepaintisap-pliedinafluidmannerwithsoftshadinginthecolouringof thehorses,as theyappear togallopthroughthesea with the serpentine waves providing the underlying

structure.Itillustratesanewphaseofexpressivenessemployingmorecolourandnatural forms thatgivesanorganicfeelingtoJellett’spaintings.ThefactthatJel-lett’sworkrepresentedIrelandataninternationalforumshowedadegreeofacceptanceofthemodernmove-mentinIreland.Astastechanged,theWesternpaint-ingsthatwereusedtoillustrateanewruralnationwereovertakenbyModernism.

MainieJellett(1897–1944)BorninDublin,JelletttrainedunderWilliamOrpen,andWalterSickertattheWestminsterSchoolofArtinLon-don.In1921,sheandEvieHone(1894–1955)studiedinPariswithAndréLhote(1885–1962),andAlbertGleizes(1881–1953),whointroducedhertocubistabstraction.In1923,Jellett’spaintings(e.g.Decoration, NGI.1326)werecondemnedataSocietyofDublinPaintersexhibitionandshewasnotfavourablyrevieweduntil1928.Ady-namicfigurewhodevotedherlifetopromotingart,shewaselectedthefirstpresidentoftheIrishExhibitionofLivingArt(1943),andbecamethecentralfigureofthemodernmovementinIreland.

LilianLucyDavidson(1879–1954), Fashions at the Fair,c.1940sOiloncanvas,71x92cm.Purchased,2003.NGI.4719.

Throughouthercareer,Davidsonreturnedtothesubjectoffairsandmarketscenes.Theircolourfulappearanceandlivelyatmosphereweresuitedtoherstyleandtech-nique,characterisedbyabolduseofcolour,senseofdesign,andfluidapplicationofpaint.MarketsandfairswerecommonacrossIrelandandimportantforcom-mercialtransactionandsocialexchange.Davidsontrav-elledthroughoutthecountryandthisworkmaybesetinWestport,Co.Mayo,illustratingabusyscenewithlocalpeopledrawntothestallsbythegoodsandproduceonoffer.TheinfluenceoftheearlyworkofJackB.Yeatsisevidentinheruseofbroadbrushwork,thicklyappliedpaintandflatareasofcolour.Davidson’sfamilywasnotascomfortableas thoseofotherwomenartists,andthismayhavecausedhertobeparticularlysympathetictothehard-workingcountrypeople.Thebusymarketscene formsa tapestryof textureandcolour reflect-inghernaturalimpulseforpatternmakingandstrong

contrastsofcolourandtone.Thebrilliantcanopiesandwhite-washedcottagescontrastwiththedarkshadowystallsandblackandbrowncalvesseatedontheground,illustratingdramatictonaleffectsthatenhancetheat-mosphereofthescene.Theelevatedviewpointreducesthesenseofspaceandflattensthecomposition,allow-ingthemarkettofillthepictureanddrawtheviewerin.

LilianLucyDavidson(1879–1954)Born inWicklow,Davidsonattended theDublinMet-ropolitanSchoolofArt(1895–1905).In1920sheheldajointexhibitionwithMainieJellett.DavidsonspenttimeinParis,exhibitingattheSalondelaSocietéandSalondesBeauxArts.Arespectedteacher,sheprovideddraw-ingclassesatherstudioandtaughtatvariousDublinSchools.ApopularfigureintheDublinartworld,shewasamemberoftheSocietyofDublinPaintersandex-hibitedregularlyattheRHAandotherDublingalleries.Anoccasionalportraitist,shepaintedsomeofhercon-temporaries,includingJackB.YeatsandSarahPurser(1848–1943).DM

36 37

GerardDillon(1916–1971),The Little Green Fields,c.1946–50Oiloncanvas40.5x89cm.MáireMacNeillSweeneyBequest

1987.NGI.4520.©TheArtist’sEstate.

In 1939, following theoutbreakof the SecondWorldWar,DillondiscoveredtheWestofIreland.Itsremote-nessfromLondonbecameimportanttohim.Herentedcottages,stayingonInishlackan,asmallislandinRound-stoneBayinascenicpartofConnemara,wherehepaint-ed The Little Green Fieldsbetween1946and1950. Conne-marapresentedacontrasttourbanlifeand,likemanyartistsbeforehim,hewasattractedbyitsuniqueruggedlandscape,thepeopleandtheirsimplelifestyle.Hepor-trayedtheWestashesawitwithsmallfarmsandwhitethatchedcottagesboundbydrystonewalls.Inishlackanwasoneofthelastareasinthecountrytogainelectricpower. Inthiswork,Dillon illustratestherelationshipbetweenthepastandthepresentineachofthefields.Thepastisalludedtobyancientruins,megalithictombs,highcrossesandagraveyardwithawhitemonasticfig-

urecarvedinstone.Thelinktothepresentisseeninthesowingofpotatoes,pigsinfrontofcottages,hensbeingfed,cowsandhorsesgrazing,and,intheforeground,afarmerlightinghispipeinfrontofastonefigure.Thesceneisconveyedinadirectunsophisticatedmanner,appropriatetothesubjectmatterandsuitedtoDillon’sstyle,largelytheresultofbeingaself-taughtartist.

GerardDillon(1916–1971)BorninBelfast,Dillonbecameapprenticedasapainteranddecorator.FollowingstudiesatBelfastSchoolofArt,hemovedtoLondonin1934.From1939,hetravelledregularlytotheWestofIreland,makingextendedtripstoDublinandBelfast.HejoinedtheWhiteStagGroup,exhibitingattheRoyalHibernianAcademyandtheIrishExhibitionofLivingArt.HereturnedtoteachinWestLon-donbetween1945and1968,visitingItalyin1947,Spaininthe1950s,andtouringDenmarkandtheUnitedStates.In1968hesettledinDublinand,followinghisdeath,wasburiedinBelfast.Hisversatilityextendedtoetchings,stagesetsanddesignsformuralsandtapestries.

JackB.Yeats(1871–1957), Men of Destiny,1946Oiloncanvas,51x69cm.Presented,JackB.YeatsLoan

Committee,1946.NGI.1134.©EstateofJackB.Yeats.Allrights

reserved,DACS,2014.

Men of Destinywaspaintedthirtyyearsafterthe1916Ris-ing,ayearaftertheSecondWorldWar,andtwoyearsbefore theestablishmentof the IrishRepublic.YeatsdrawsonhismemoryofSligofishermendisembarkingfromtheirboatwithitsmastandoars,surroundedbytheseaatRossesPoint.HewouldhavebeenfamiliarwiththedarkblueofDrumcliffBaytotheleftandConeyIslandontheright,bathedinablazeofgoldreflectingtheraysofthesettingsun.Asthetitlesuggests,Yeatsusesthisimagefromhisyouthtodrawattentiontothemanyyoungmenwholefttheirhomestoleadthefightforfreedom.Thefiguresarepaintedinthickexpressivebrushstrokes of royal blue, vibrant orange and goldwith thecoloursechoedontheroughheadland.Therichbluesandgreensoftheskyandseamergeasthe

eyeiscaughtbythebrilliantyellowandwhitelightonthehorizon.Theartistconsideredtheseyoungmenasbothheroesandbravewarriors.ItmayhavecausedhimtoreflectonthefactthatthefutureofIrelandandofEuroperestedontheshouldersofsuch‘menofdestiny’.

JackB.Yeats(1871–1957)BorninLondon,theyoungestchildofJohnButlerYeatsandSusanMaryPollexfen,Jackwasraisedbygrandpar-entsinSligobetween1879and1887.FollowingtraininginLondonatSouthKensingtonSchoolofArt,ChiswickSchool of Art and Westminster School of Art, he started workingasanillustrator.In1894,hemarriedtheartistMaryCottenhamWhiteandtheymovedtoSurrey,andDevonin1897,whenheconcentratedonwatercolourpainting.In1910hemovedtoIreland,wherehebeganpaintingconsistentlyinoils,hispreferredmedium.HelivedinGreystones,thenDonnybrook,beforesettlinginFitzwilliamSquare.Hiswifediedin1947,andin1955hemovedtoanursinghomeinPortobello,wherehepassedawayin1957.

38 39

MauriceMacGonigal(1900–1979),Early Morning, Connemara (Mannin Bay),c.1965Oilonboard,55x75.5cm.Presented,JamesNolan,

inmemoryoftheartist,1983.NGI.4461.©NationalGalleryof

Ireland.

Early Morning, Connemara isalaterworkbytheartist,whomaintainedthatdespitelivinginDublin,theWestofIrelandprovidedanenduringinspirationforhiswork.WhileMacGonigal’searlyfigurativepaintingsfollowedanacademicpattern,similartoSeánKeating,hislaterstyleshowedtheinfluenceofmoremoderntechniques.InthislateWesternlandscape,heemploysafluidstyle,experimentingwithdifferentbrushstrokesandalightpalette,toevoketheatmosphereofafreshbreezyday.Heworkedoutdoorswhenpaintinglandscapes,mak-ingdrawingsandwatercoloursforuseasareferenceinthestudio.Thisscenedepictsanunspoiltpanoramaof Connemara; white cottages are scattered on theseashorewithitsinletsandManninBaywithitsjuttingheadlandisinthedistance.Amancrossesastonyfieldwithsheep,hisdogathisheels.Thesmoothlyexecutedearlymorningskywithpinkcloudsonthehorizonsets

themood in thispaintingof awarm freshday, aug-mentedbythewhiteboatsonavividbluesea.Therap-idlypaintedoverlappinggreenandyellowbrushstrokescreatetheeffectofaspontaneouslypaintedscene.TheartistisburiedinRoundstone,Co.Galway.

MauriceMacGonigal(1900–1979)BorninDublin,thesonofaSligo-bornpainter-decora-tor,hewasapprenticedinthestained-glassstudioofhisuncle, JoshuaClarke.His involvement in theWarof Independence resulted in internment and releasein1922.Theseyearshelpedtoformhisartisticvision.HeresumedtrainingwithhiscousinHarryClarke,withwhomheproduced stained-glassdesigns.Hewonascholarship to theDublinMetropolitanSchoolofArt(1934–1936),wasawardedtheRDSTaylorprizeandsil-vermedal for landscapepainting.AregularexhibitorattheRoyalHibernianAcademy,hebecameitsPresi-dent(1937–1969)andProfessorofPainting.AlthoughhetaughtattheNationalCollegeofArtandDesign(1937–1969),holidayswerespentinhisbelovedConnemara.Hisoutput includedstagedesigns,postersandbookillustrations.

KittyWilmerO’Brien(1910–1982), Near Westport, Co. MayoOilonboard,50.8x70.8cm.Presented,DrBrendanO’Brien,

inmemoryofhiswife,theartist,1983.NGI.4469.

©TheArtist’sEstate.

Thetwostrikinglandscapesinthisbookdisplaytheart-ist’saffectionforCountyMayo,includingClew Bay from Murrisk (onthecover),paintedinthe1950s,andNear Westport,possiblyalsofromthisperiod.Fromthe1930s,the artist holidayed regularly in the West of Ireland, recording in oils,watercolour and gouache the locallandscapeandseascape.WhilethebulkofherWesternwork,comprisingthirty-sixpaintingsofCountyMayo,wasexhibitedattheRoyalHibernianAcademybetween1946and1979, from1950sheshowedfurtherscenesof Co. Mayo at the Watercolour Society of Ireland. The coverimagedepictstheareaaroundMurriskbetweenCroaghPatrickandtheshoresofClewBay,whereonthelastSundayinJulypilgrimsclimbedthereekofCroaghPatrick.O’BrienalsopaintednumerousviewsaroundWestport,suchasthisone,drawingonherpreferenceforbrightcolours,boldoutlinesandstrongbrushwork,

influencedbytheworkofVincentvanGogh(1853–1890)thatshesawinGermanyin1936.Thislandscapeisde-finedby the foregroundstonewall andnarrow roadwindingitswaythroughthewindsweptfields,asitdisap-pearsintostronglyoutlinedmountainsthataretoppedbyacloudyskyhintingofrain.Bothpaintingsoffreshcolourfulsceneswithcloudyskiesareexecutedintheartist’sdecisivefluidstyle.

KittyWilmerO’Brien(1910–1982)AlthoughborninIndia,O’Briengrewupinhermother’scityofDublin.SheattendedtheRoyalHibernianAcad-emyschools,whereshewasencouragedbyDermodO’Brien (1865–1945), and theMetropolitan School ofArt,where she befriendedMauriceMacGonigal. SheobtainedascholarshiptotheSladeSchoolofArtinLon-don.In1936shemarriedDrBrendanO’Brien,thesonofherformertutor.In1951shewenttoParistostudywithAndréLhote.HeractivecareerincludedherelectionaspresidentoftheWatercolourSociety(1962–1981),andcouncilmemberofFriendsoftheNationalCollectionsofIreland.ShebecameanRHAin1976.

40 41

RobertBallagh(b.1943),Portrait of Noel Browne (1915–1997), Politician,1985Oiloncanvas,183x137cm.Purchased,1991.NGI.4573.©

RobertBallagh.

DrNoelBrowne isportrayedathishome inBailenahAbhann,whereheretiredafteracareerinpolitics.Asachild,hehadtuberculosis,adiseasetowhichhelosthisparents.HestudiedmedicineatTrinityCollegeDublinandduringhisearlycareerasadoctor,witnessedtheeffectsofTB.Heenteredpolitics,wasappointedMinisterforHealthin1948andfoughttoeradicatethedisease.HisprogressivepoliciesandliberalattitudebroughthimintoconflictwiththeCatholicChurch,whichoperatedmosthospitals.TheChurchopposedtheintroductionofhisMotherandChildScheme,intendedtoprovidefreestate-fundedhealthcare,forcinghimtoresignin1951.The cruciform shape of the portrait evokes both

Browne’sdifficultrelationshipwiththeChurchandhisownpersonalsacrifice.PortrayedwearinganAranjump-erandsetinBailenahAbhann,westofGalway,betweenInverinandCostelloe,theimageconveyshispassionforIrishhistoryandculture.Hiserectposeanddeterminedyetreflectiveexpression,illustratestheindividualityandstrengthofcharacterforwhichhewasknown.ThisisfurthersuggestedbytheinclusionofbooksbyKarlMarxandSamuelBeckett.Thecomposition’scleanlinesandmeticulousattentiontodetailaretypicalofBallagh’sma-turestyle,demonstratingtheinfluenceofphotographyinhispractice.Atthebase,stonesappeartospilloutofthepictureformingasmallpileofrealstones,creat-ingvisualconnectionsbetweentheimageandreality.Signedatthefootofthepaintingis‘DocthúirNollaigdeBrún/RoibárdBallagh’.

RobertBallagh(b.1943)BorninDublin,BallaghstudiedarchitectureattheDublinInstituteofTechnology.In1967hemettheartistMichaelFarrell (1940–2000)whohiredhimasanassistant.Hesoondevelopedhisownstyleandtechnique,influencedbyphotographyanddesign.HecontributedtotheIrishExhibitionofLivingArtandROSC.Hisearlyworksrefer-encedtheOldMasters,Goya,DavidandDelacroix.Byin-troducingelementsofsocialandpoliticalwit,hemergedsocialrealismwiththecleanlinesandglossyfinishoftheadvertisingworld.Hehasportrayedmanysignificantfigures,designedstagesetsforRiverdance,IrishpostagestampsandthelastseriesofIrishbanknotes.DM

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collectionofwatercolours(1993)isnowonpermanentdisplayattheUniversityofLimerick.

DublinSketchingClubFounded in 1874, thesketchingclubhasheldannualexhibitionsinDublinsince1876.In2000,itchangeditsnametotheDublinPaintingandSketchingClub.

RoyalUlsterAcademyFoundedin1879astheBelfastRamblersSketchingClub,itbecametheUlsterAcademyofArtsin1930andtheRoyalUlsterAcademyofArtsin1950.Astheoldestex-hibitingsocietyinNorthernIreland,itprovidesanim-portantforumforpainters,sculptorsandarchitectstoexhibitannually.

OireachtasFestivalandArtExhibitionFoundedtohelp integrateartwiththeIrish languagemovement,thefirstfestivalwasheldin1897.Exhibitionstookplaceatintervalsin1905,1906,1907,1911and1920until itbecameanannualeventin1941.Since1943, ithasbecomeanimportantopensubmissionexhibitionselected by a committee of artists.

SocietyofDublinPaintersItwasfoundedin1920by PaulHenry,hiswifeGrace,JackB.Yeats,MarySwanzyandotherartists,joinedshortlyafterbyHarryClarke,MainieJellettandCharlesLamb. ItrepresentedtheprogressivefaceofIrishart.Thehey-dayoftheSocietywasthe1920stothe1940s;itdeclinedinthe1950sandceasedtofunctionin1969.

UlsterSocietyofPaintersIn1920,theSocietywasfoundedbyagroupofNorth-ernartiststostimulatepaintinginNorthernIreland.Itwasofficiallyformedin1934.AnumberoftheartistsmodelleditontheLondon-basedgroupUnitOne,andthisevolvedintotheshort-livedUlsterUnit(1933–1934),whichwasdisbanded.

IrishExhibitionofLivingArt(IELA)In1943,theIrishExhibitionofLivingArtwassetupby

agroupofartists,ledbyLouisleBrocquy,MainieJellettandNorahMcGuinness,inresponsetotheneedforaforumtoexhibitmodernartandtoexplorecontempo-raryIrishart.Itdeclinedovertimeastheirexhibitionslosttheirvitality.Thegroupdisbandedintheearly1990s.

OtherSchoolsofArtOthernineteenth-centurySchoolsofDesign includedLimerick,Clonmel,WaterfordandDerry,notallofwhomsurvived.Inthetwentiethcentury,LimerickSchoolofOr-namentalArt(1852)developedintothemuchexpandedLimerickCollegeofArtandDesign.WaterfordSchoolofPracticalArtandDesign(1852)withtimebecamepartoftheWaterfordInstituteofTechnology.DúnLaoghaireCollegeofArtandDesignmovedtoanewcampusinthe1980s,andgraduallydevelopedintotheDúnLaoghaireInstituteofArt,Design&Technologyin1997.Itisoneofthirteen Institutes of Technology.

The academies, societies, art schools and institutes listedabove(notincludingarthistoryatthirdlevelcol-leges)formpartoftheframeworkofarteducationinIreland.

TheTrainingofIrishArtistsandExhibitionsThelaternineteenthcenturysawthepatterninthetrain-ing of Irish artists change from initial studies at Irish art institutions(listedbelow),someartistsattendingEnglishartschools(YeatsandClarke),toagradualshifttotravel-ling and training on the Continent. Followinghis Irish training,NathanielHone looked

directlytoFrance,asotherstravelledtoAntwerp(Os-borne), to Paris (Henry and Jellett), and an increas-ingnumberwent topaint inNormandyandBrittany (Osborne,O’Kelly,LambandJellett).Theseartistssoughtoutnew subjectmatter andawider artistic environ-mentinwhichtolearnaboutpaintingintheopenair(en plein air)directlyfromnature.TheywereinspiredbythewildpicturesquesceneryinBrittanyandthesimpleunspoiledBretonwayoflife.Manyoftheartistsinthisbooktravelledelsewheree.g.BurtonpaintedinEnglandandGermanyasdidHoneandLamb;Honewentfur-thertoHolland,Italy,GreeceandEgypt,likewiseAloy-siusO’Kelly,whopaintedinFrance,England,Italy,NorthAfrica,Egyptand theUnitedStates;OsborneworkedinEnglandtravellingalsotoSpainandHolland;Clarkepainted in France, travelling also to Scotland, Spain,SwitzerlandandTangiers,whileJellett,whopaintedinEnglandandFrance,travelledalsotoLithuania,Belgium,ScotlandandHolland–tonamebutafew.Atdifferenttimes in their careers, many of these artists turned to the WestofIrelandseekingnewsubjectmatterandproduc-ingscenesinwhichlightandatmosphereseemedfreshfrom nature.

TheDublinSocietyDrawingSchoolsandtheNationalCollegeofArtandDesignIn1746,theDublinSociety(1731)setupadrawingschoolthatemergedoutoftheprivateacademyofFrancisWest(1743).By1750,theDublinSocietyDrawingSchoolswerestartingtodevelopfourschoolsinone(figuredrawing,landscape&ornament,architecturaldrawing&design,modelling&sculpture).TheRoyalDublinSocietyalsopro-videdanexhibitionspaceintheearlynineteenthcentury.In1849,itbecameaSchoolofDesign(whenwomenwereadmitted),transferringin1854totheDepartmentofSci-

enceandArt.In1877itbecametheDublinMetropolitanSchoolofArtwiththecurriculumcontrolleduntil1899bytheDepartmentofScienceandArtinSouthKensington.RenamedtheNationalCollegeofArtin1939,itbecametheNationalCollegeofArtandDesign(NCAD)in1971.

RoyalHibernianAcademyandGalleryIncorporatedbycharter in 1823, theRoyalHibernianAcademyaimedat fostering appreciationof thefinearts,holdingannualexhibitions(from1826),andprovid-inginstructionforartists.TheRHAlostitspremisesinLowerAbbeyStreetintheEasterRisingof1916.Intheinterim,theRHAschoolstookplaceat6StStephen’sGreen(1916–1939)and15ElyPlace(1939–1942),withan-nualexhibitionsheldatNCAD(1917–1969)andtheNa-tionalGalleryofIreland(1971–1984).Withtheacquisitionof15ElyPlace(1939),andsupportedbyMatthewGal-lagherin1970,theRHAreopenedin1984,andprovidesprogrammesofannualexhibitions,eventsandstudio-schools.

CrawfordCollegeofArtandDesignDevelopingoutofaseriesoffineartsocietiesandasso-ciations,itemergedasaSchoolofDesignin1850,whichwasextendedthroughthesupportofW.H.Crawford,andrenamedtheCrawfordMunicipalSchoolofArtin1885. Ithashada long-timeassociationwith theCrawford MunicipalArtGallery (1885). TheSchool relocated toSharmanCrawfordStreetin1980,becomingtheCraw-fordCollegeofArtandDesignin1985.

BelfastSchoolofArtIn1850,aSchoolofDesignopenedinBelfast,whichaftera time reconstituted as a college, becoming the Ulster CollegeofArtandDesigninthe1960s.Since1982,ithasbecomeaFacultyofArtandDesigninYorkStreetaspartoftheUniversityofUlster.

WaterColourSocietyofIrelandFounded in 1870 (firstexhibition 1871), it changed itsnametotheWaterColourSocietyofIrelandin1888.IthasheldexhibitionsinDublinsince1891.TheSociety’s

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Landscape. Dublin2013HutcHINsoN, J., James Arthur O’Connor. Dublin1985Kelly, J., Sport in Ireland 1600–1800. Dublin2014KeNNedy, B.P. and R. GIllesPIe (Eds.), Ireland: Art

into History.Dublin1994KeNNedy, R. (Ed.), Masquerade and Spectacle: The Circus

and the Travelling Fair in the Work of Jack B. Yeats. Dublin2007

KeNNedy,S.B.,Irish Art and Modernism 1880–1950.Belfast1991

KeNNedy,S.B.,Paul Henry. NewHavenandLondon2000KINmoNtH, C., Irish Rural Interiors in Art. NewHavenandLondon 2000

KReIlKamP,V.(Ed.),Rural Ireland: The Inside Story. Chicago 2012

le HaRIvel, A. (Ed.), Taking Stock: Acquisitions 2000–2010. Dublin2010

le HaRIvel, A., National Gallery of Ireland. Illustrated Summary Catalogue of Drawings, Watercolours and Miniatures.Dublin1983

le HaRIvel, a. and m. WyNNe., National Gallery of Ireland. Illustrated Summary Catalogue of Paintings. Dublin 1981

mccoNKey,K.,A Free Spirit: Irish Art 1860–1960. Woodenbridge1990

maGuIRe, D. and P. sWoRds., The Sketchbooks of Jack B. Yeats 1897–1955. Dublin2013

maRsHall,C.,‘PaintingIrishHistory:TheFamine’,History Ireland,Vol.4,3.1996

muRPHy, A., The Paintings of Paul and Grace Henry. TheHughLaneMunicipalGalleryofModernArt1991

muRRay, P., George Petrie (1790–1866): The Rediscovery of Ireland’s Past. Cork2004

muRRay, P. (Ed.),Whipping the Herring: Survival and Celebration in Nineteenth-Century Irish Art.Cork2006

o’coNNell, D. (catalogue), Mainie Jellett 1897–1944. Dublin 1991

o’coNNoR,É.,Seán Keating in Context: Responses to Culture and Politics in Post-Civil War Ireland. Dublin2009

o’sullIvaN N., Aloysius O’Kelly: Art, Nation, Empire. Dublin 2010

Pyle,H.,Cesca’s Diary 1913–1916: Where Art and Nationalism Meet. Dublin2009

Pyle,H.,Yeats: Portrait of an Artistic Family. London1997RoBINsoN, T., Stones of Aran: Pilgrimage. London1986RoBINsoN, T., Connemara: Part 1, Introduction & Gazetter,

Part 2, Map. Roundstone1990RooNey,B.(Ed.),A Time and a Place: Two Centuries

of Irish Social Life.Dublin2007RooNey,B.,The Life and Work of Harry Jones Thaddeus. Dublin2003

RooNey,B.,‘ErskineNicol,1825–1904’,Irish Paintings. Dublin2001

scott,Y.,The West as Metaphor. Dublin2005sHeeHy, J., Walter Osborne.Dublin1983sHeeHy, J., The Rediscovery of Ireland’s Past: The Celtic

Revival 1830–2930.London1980sNoddy, T., Dictionary of Irish Artists: 20th Century. Dublin 1996,secondprint2002

steWaRt, A.M., Irish Art Loan Exhibitions 1795–1927,Vols.1–3.Dublin1990and1995

steWaRt, A.M., Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts Index of Exhibitors 1826–1979,3Vols.Dublin1986and1987

stRIcKlaNd, W.G., A Dictionary of Irish Artists.2Vols.Dublin1913,reprinted1968

tuRPIN, J., A School of Art in Dublin since the 18th Century. Dublin1995

WalKeR, D., Modern Art in Ireland. Dublin1997

NGIPublicationsalsoavailableasonlinepdfs@www.nationalgallery.ie/learning

asHfoRd, G., J. dRum, N. macNally and s. edmoNdsoN, Exploring Childhood at the National Gallery of Ireland 1570–1950.Dublin2014

BouRKe, M., Impressionism at the National Gallery of Ireland. Dublin2013

BouRKe, M. and s. edmoNdsoN, Irish Artists Painting in France c.1860–1910 at the National Gallery of Ireland. Dublin2013

SuggestionsforFurtherReadingArts in Education Charter,DepartmentofArts,HeritageandtheGaeltacht,andDepartmentofEducationandSkills.Dublin2012

aaleN,F.H.A.,K. WHelaN and m. stout (Eds.), Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape. Cork,secondedition2001

aRNold,B.,Mainie Jellett and the Modern Movement in Ireland.LondonandNewHaven1991

BHReatHNacH-lyNcH, S., Ireland’s Art, Ireland’s History: Representing Ireland, 1845 to Present.Omaha2007

BouRKe, M., The Story of Irish Museums, 1790–2000. Cork2011,secondprinting2013

BouRKe,M.,‘Yeats,HenryandtheWesternIdyll’,History Ireland,Vol.2,2.2003

BouRKe,M.,‘AGrowingSenseofNationalIdentity.CharlesLamb(1893–1964)andtheWestofIreland’,History Ireland,Vol.8,1.2000

BouRKe,M.,‘FredericWilliamBurton1816–1900,PainterandAntiquarian’,Éire-Ireland, Journal of the Irish AmericanCulturalInstitute,StPauls,Minnesota,Vol.28,3.1993

BouRKe, M. and s. BHReatHNacH-lyNcH, Discover Irish Art. Dublin1999,reprinted2000.

BoylaN,H.(Ed.),A Concise Dictionary of Irish Biography. Dublin1998

caffRey,P.,‘SamuelLover’sAchievementasaPainter’, Irish Arts Review,Vol.3,1.1986

caHIll,K.,‘IntheMainstreamofIrishNaturalism:TheArtofLilianLucyDavidson1879–1954’,Irish Arts Review, Vol.15.1999

camPBell, J., Walter Osborne in the West of Ireland. Dublin 2004

camPBell, J., Nathaniel Hone the Younger.Dublin1991caRPeNteR, A. (Gen. Ed.), Art and Architecture of Ireland, Vol.2Painting1600–1900,Vol.5TwentiethCentury.Dublin,LondonandNewHaven2014

caRty, C., Robert Ballagh: Citizen Artist.Dublin2010collINs, T. (Ed.), Decoding the Landscape. Galway1990,reprinted1997

cRofts,S.,‘MauriceMacGonigalPRHA(1900–79)andhisWestern Paintings’, Irish Arts Review, Vol.13.1997

cRoKe,F.(Ed.),Art into Art: A Living Response to Past Masters. Dublin1998

cRoNIN, M., Sport and Nationalism in Ireland: Gaelic Games, Soccer and Irish Identity since 1884. Dublin1999

cRooKsHaNK, A. and tHe KNIGHt of GlIN, The Watercolours of Ireland c.1600–1914.London1994

cRooKsHaNK, A., and tHe KNIGHt of GlIN, Ireland’s Painters 1600–1940.NewHavenandLondon2002

cRoWley, J., W.J. smytH and m. muRPHy (Eds.), The Atlas of the Great Irish Famine. Cork2012

culleN,F.,Sources in Irish Art: A Reader. Cork2000culleN,F.,Visual Politics: The Representation of Ireland

1750–1930. Cork1997dalsImeR, A.M. (Ed.), Visualising Ireland, National Identity

and the Pictorial Tradition. BostonandLondon1993davIs, C. (Ed.), National Gallery of Ireland, Essential Guide. Dublin2008

de couRcy, C. and A. maHeR., Fifty Views of Ireland. Dublin 1985

duNlevy, M., Dress in Ireland. London1989duffy, T., Exploring the History and Heritage of Irish

Landscapes. Dublin2007eRRINGtoN,L.,Sir David Wilkie: Drawings into Paintings. NationalGalleryScotland1975

fIGGIs N. and B. RooNey., Irish Paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland, Vol.1.Dublin2001

fosteR,R.F.,The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern Ireland.Oxford1989,revisedasThe Oxford History of Ireland1992

GoRdoN BoWe, N., The Life and Work of Harry Clarke. Dublin1989,revisedandupdated2012

GRaves, A., The Royal Academy of Arts: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and their Works from 1769–1904. London1905and1906

HaRBIsoN, P., William Burton Conyngham and His Irish Circle of Antiquarian Artists. NewHavenandLondon2012.

HaRBIsoN, P., ‘Our Treasure of Antiquities’, Beranger and Bigiari’s Antiquarian Sketching Tour of Connacht in 1779.BrayandDublin2002

HeWItt, J., Art in Ulster, Vol. 1. Belfast1977HoBsoN,B.,Saorstát Éireann Official Handbook. Dublin1932

HodGe, A., From Galway to Leenane: Perceptions of

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• Writealettertoapersoninthepaintingfromtheperspectiveofacharacterinnineteenth-centuryIreland,tellingthemaboutyourlife.Interviewtheperson,askingthemtotellyouaboutlifeintheircountry at that time.

Integrategeographyandthevisualartsbydrawingonmappingskillsusingthesepoints:• Onamapfindacountye.g.Mayo,oraregione.g.

JoyceCountry,oraprovincee.g.Connacht,depictedinseveralofthepaintings.

• Discusstherelativelocationsoftwoplacesandthedistancesbetweentheme.g.Co.ClareandCo.Sligo.

• MaptheprovinceofConnachtandnamethemaintownsineachcounty.

• Usemapstolocateandnamethemaingeographicalfeaturesinthesepaintingse.g.Burton’sIn Joyce Country, CollesWatkins’A View of the Killaries, MacGonigal’s Early Morning, Connemara (Mannin Bay), and O’Connor’s The Mill, Ballinrobe.

• Discussborderingcountiesandtheinfluencestheyhaveonacountye.g.Sligo.

Encourageinteractionbetweenmusic,dramaandthe visualarts:• Indrama,lookatactivitiesthatinvolvearole-

playorimprovisationonasceneinapainting,orbetweentwochildrene.g.O’Kelly’sMass in a Connemara Cabin orcharactersinapaintinge.g.Yeats’Before the Start or The Country Shop.

• Exploreasceneinapainting,anduseitasapretexte.g.Burton’sAran Fisherman’s Drowned Child. Encourage the students to dramatise the imagined priorsceneornextscene.Dramatechniques,suchasstill-life,thought-trackingandfreeze-framing,couldbedrawnintothiswork.

• Inmusic,considercomposingactivitiesbasedonsomeofthepaintingse.g.Petrie’sPilgrims at Saint Brigid’s Well, Dillon’s The Little Green Fields, Davidson’sFashions at the Fair,O’Kelly’sMass in a Connemara Cabin and use a range of sound sources

toinventandperformpiecesinspiredbytheseworks.

JuniorandSeniorCycle: Junior and Senior Cycle can use theseimagesinsupportstudiesforthepaintingsection,usingtheinformationtoexplainaspectsoftheirwork.SeeinformationonJuniorCertificateandshortcoursesbelow.It isimportantthatJuniorandSeniorCycleartstudentsvisittheNationalGalleryofIrelandonapre-bookedStructuredTourandbringdrawingmaterialstosketchfromthepaintings.OnarrivalattheGallery,asktheguidetoencouragediscussionandinteractioninordertounderstandthatpaintings involveaworldofpeopleandplaces,history,realandimaginedevents,natureandstill-life.Drawcomparisonswithotherworksof art, including those from earlier and more modern periods.Thismightinvolvetellingthestoryofanartist’slifeorformpartoftheirownresearch.SketchingintheGallerycanbeusedaspartofsupportstudies,projects,cartoons and storyboards.

TheJuniorCertificateA Framework for Junior Cycle(2012)includes‘creativityandinnovation’amongsteightprinciples,togetherwitheightkeyskills.ThelearningthatstudentsexperienceinJuniorCycle isdescribedthroughtwenty-fourstatementsoflearning,whichincludetheneedforstudentsto‘create,appreciateandcriticallyinterpretawiderangeoftexts’and ‘tocreateandpresentartisticworkandappreci-atetheprocessandskillsinvolved’.AsHistorystudentsstudyart-relatedthemes,suchastheArtoftheCelticmonasteries, and the Renaissance, and are encouraged tousevisualstimuli(includingpaintings)forhistoricalcomprehensiontasks,manyofthepaintingsinthisbookcouldprovidematerialforsecondandthird-yearlessonsinnineteenthandtwentieth-centuryruralandurbanlife(work,housing,leisure,etc.).

ShortcourseShortcoursesareconcernedwithcreating,appreciat-ingandinterpretingarangeoftexts,andmakingandpresentingartisticwork,whileunderstandingthepro-

Guidelines for TeachersSarahEdmondson

WestofIrelandPaintingsattheNationalGalleryofIrelandfrom1800to2000Seealsopdf@www.nationalgallery.ie/learningThis publication exploringWest of Ireland images isbasedonpaintingsfromtheNationalGalleryofIreland’scollectioncreatedbetweenthenineteenthandtwenti-ethcenturies,duringatimeofchangeandupheavalinIrishhistory,whenissuesofsubsistence,famine,emi-gration, customs and traditions and national identity wereimportant.Lookingatpaintingscreatedduringthisperiodcanassistintheunderstandingandappreciationof Irish history. Thisresourcecanbeusedatdifferent levelstoen-

hancethestudent’slearningopportunitieswithvisualimagerysoastoencourageengagementwithart-mak-inganddrawlinksandconnectionsbetweenartandthecurriculum.ItispossibletodiscussquerieswiththeNGIEducationOfficerresponsibleforteachersandschoolsateducation@ngi.ie.SincepublicationofThe Arts in Edu-cation Charter(2012),welookforwardtoseeingschoolsvisitingtheNationalGalleryofIrelandonguidedtourseachyear.Forbookings:tour@ngi.ie.

PrimarySchool:TeachersknowthatthePrimarySchoolVisualArtsCurriculumencouragestheuseofappropri-atevisualvocabulary,whichisbestachievedbylookingandreactingtoworksofart.Lookingandrespondingin-volvesstudentslookingatartworkstoencouragealllev-els of ability. As children don’t need to be able to read to understandpaintings,respondingtoanimageprovidesan opportunity to develop language skills. Teacherscouldaskstudentstodescribewhattheyseeandhelpthemwithsuitablewords(under‘artterms’).Encouragethemtonamecolours(e.g.yellow),describethem(e.g.bright),identifywhereobjectsaresituatedinthepicture(e.g.thegirlisatthebackontheright),graduallyintro-ducingconcepts,suchasperspective,lightandshadow.Aspracticalartisincreasinginmuseumsandgalleries,encouragethemtobecreativeintheirart-making.Thecurricularlinksandprojectswillassiststudentstomakeimaginativeconnectionsandtoexpresstheirideasandfeelings throughdrawing, painting, constructing and

inventing.Thishelpsthemtoassimilateandrespondtoexperienceandtomakesenseofit.Usetheimagestotalkaboutthescale,techniqueandpainttextureofworksofart.Explainthatanoriginalpaintingisuniqueandprecious.VisittheNationalGalleryofIrelandonapre-bookedDiscoveryTour.ThePrimarySchoolVisualArtsCurriculumdrawsre-

lationshipsbetweenmaking,lookingatandrespondingtoart,andsuggestssixareasbywhichchildrencanin-terprettheworld:drawing,paintandcolour,print,clay,construction, fabricandfibre.Thesecanbeused fordiscussion,tomakecross-curricularlinks,andtotryouttheprojectswitheachagegroup.

ApplicabletoAllLevelsofTeachingInteachinghistoryconsider:• Theyearofthecreationofoneofthepaintings.

Plot the date on a timeline.• DiscusskeyeventsinnationalorEuropeanhistory

aroundthedateoftheartworkandmakelinksbetweentheseeventsandthethemeofthepainting.

• Notethetypeandnatureofthework/activitydepictedinthepainting.

• Discussthefiguresandclothingandifithaschangedovertime?

• Whatarethemainmodesoftransportinthreeoftheworks?

• Discussoneofthelandscapesdepicted–whatareitsmainfeatures?Isitruraland/orremote,andhowmightthatlandscapehavechangedorstayedthesameovertime?

• Makedeductionsregardingthechildren,thepeopleandthesocietyinwhichtheylived.Askquestions–why,whatif,andhowdoweknow?

• Createaclose-updrawingofoneortwoofthechildreninapainting.

• Discussthelandscape/seascapesettings,thebuilding’sinterior/exterior,theirfeatures,andhowtheymighthavechanged?

• PaintordrawascenefromIrishhistoryduringthenineteenth century.

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inpaintings,drawings,printsandsculptureusingtheonlinecollectionatwww.nationalgallery.ie.TransitionYearisanidealopportunitytoorganiseaguidedtourandworkshopexploringthecollectionsoftheNationalGallery of Ireland.

LeavingCertificate:ThispublicationisdirectlylinkedtotheLeavingCertificateArtHistorysyllabus.Therangeofmediaandtechniques,thesubjectpictures,theland-scapesandseascapes,theportrayalofpeopleandthesettingsareallrelevanttoSeniorCyclearteducation.Theintroductoryessaycanbecombinedwithdetailsofthepaintings,theartist’slife,thetimelineandthesocialhistoryoftheperiod.Historystudentscanundertakespecialresearchstudiesonthelifeandworksofartists,especiallyiftheycanlinkthetopicstomeaningfulsocialand cultural historical themes, such as those listed in thisbook.UsetheNGIexhibitionnotesandLeavingCer-tificateArtinformation,andorganiseastructuredvisittotheNationalGalleryof Irelandtoviewtheoriginalworksofart.Theprocessofinvestigationanddevelop-ment is essential in order for students to be able to cre-atethebestpossibleartwork.Studentsandteacherscan seek support from theNGI’s SchoolsOfficewith thenewCourseworkWorkbook in researching initialthemesusingavarietyofrelevantmediaandmaterials,investigatingpossibleroutestotakewithcoursework, developingideasandproposals,andsketchingpiecesof art in real time. See information on NGI collections at www.nationalgallery.ie.

ThemesThe paintings have been grouped under six specific themesinordertodemonstratehowpaintingscanbe usedtounderstandcomplexconcepts inhistoryandsociety.Discussionpointsandprojectsareaimedaten-couragingactivelearningandparticipation:• AVisualHistory:Irelandinthe1900s.• IrishTraditions,CultureandHeritage.• Romantic Ideals and Notions about the West.• PovertyandEmigration.• Religion in Ireland.

• Agricultural Ireland.• IrishLandscapePainting.

cessesinvolved.Theyoffertheopportunityofdevisinganddeliveringnewwaysoflearning.TheframeworkforJuniorCyclewilloffertheoptionofschool-developedArtHistory‘shortcourses’forwhichthisbookisideal.ItcouldbeusedbyteacherstoformaminicoursedrawingonIrishhistoryandtheArts,lookingatartandliteraturecreatedinIrelandinthenineteenthandtwentiethcentu-riesandthenationaleventsthatinformedandinspiredthem.Subjects involvedareArt, English,HistoryandBusinessStudies.Thestudentscanbeencouragedtopresenttheresultsofthisresearchinavisuallyinterest-ingwayaspartoftheshortcoursedemonstratinganunderstandingofthehistoryanddevelopmentoftheWestofIreland.Itcanformaminicourse,drawingonotherthemes,includingwar,poverty,famine,emigra-tion,costume,education,music,oralhistory,travelandtransport,andcustomsandtraditions,drawingcross-curricularlinkswithmusic,literature,design,filmandthesocialandculturalhistoryoftheperiod.NationalGalleryofIrelanddownloadablepdfsarebeingprovidedasresourcesforshortcourses,whichwehopewillcon-necttothelivesandlearningof12-15yearolds.Referto the NCCA for guidelines on statements of learning, linkstokeyskills(e.g.literacyandnumeracy),learningoutcomes,strands,in-schoolassessmentetc.Learningaimsandoutcomes:UsetheNGIwebsiteto

lookatthecollectionsonline.Tryplacingtheminawiderarthistoricalcontextbydescribingthesocialcontextandcomparingandcontrastingtheworksaccordingtotheirsubjectmatterandformalqualities.Seetheseasnewwaysoflearning. Thediscussionpointsandprojectsad-dresssomelearningoutcomes:• UnderstandingIrishnationalidentity/identities–

whatitmeansandhowthisisformed.• Irishhistory–keyeventsandfigures.• Keyliteraryfigures–theirlifeandwork.• Keypainters–theirlifeandwork.• TheWestofIrelandasthetrueIreland?• Thechanginglandscape(agriculturaltoscenic

to urban). • The loss of the Irish language. • PostcardIreland–whatdoesthismean?

• Explaintheterms‘landscapepainting’and‘portraitpainting’;howdotheydiffer?

• Describesomeofthemediumandtechniquesusedbytheartistsinthisbook.Nameanumberofartistsinvolvedinlandscapepaintinganditsdevelopment.

• Discussthedifferences,styles,contentandtechniquesbetweenanearlyworke.g.O’Connor,alatenineteenth-centurywork,e.g.Osborne,anearlytwentieth-centuryworke.g.HenryorYeats,and amodernpaintingbyJellettorBallagh.

• Listanddescribefoursubjectpaintingsillustratingordinarylife–whatisthesubjectmatterandwhatdistinguishesthesepaintingsfromtheotherworks inthebook?

• The lure of the West.• TheWestasasignificantplaceforartistsand

writers.• TravelandthetrainingofIrishartists.• The‘Irishness’ordistinctivenessoftheIrish

landscape.• Access to the West of Ireland in the nineteenth

century.

TransitionYear:Imagesonscreensarepartofevery-daylife–encouragestudentstoarticulatetheirviewsaboutthepaintingsinthisbook.Theircriticalsensecanbedevelopedbyaskingthemtodiscusswhattheyseeandavoidingdetailsaboutartists’ lives,asithaslittleto dowith the looking experience. Introduce pointsabouttheartistwhentheyareexploringwhyapaintingwasmade,thesourceofinspiration,andhowtheart-istachievedcertaineffects.Thisbookformsacompactmodule forthemeworkandasalmostallTYstudentsstudyeitherArtorHistoryintheJuniorCertificate,theywillbefamiliarwithbasicarttermsanddescriptions.Themesthatcanbeexploredinclude:portrayinglifeintheWestfromthenineteenthtothetwentiethcenturies,depictingfamilylife,themovefrompicturesquescenestomore realistic landscapes, the roleofwomenandtheplaceofpeopleinthelandscape.Tailordiscussionpointsandprojects.Tracethechanginghistoryofthewestof IrelandbydrawingontheGallery’scollection

50 51

FredericWilliamBurton,The Aran Fisherman’s Drowned Child,1841Discussion points:• Discussthiswesternpre-Faminepaintingshowing

customs and traditions.• Doyouthinkthetraditionsorcustomsofdeath

sincepre-FamineIreland,1850s,havechanged?Ifso,whathaschangedandwhathaslargelyremainedthesame?

• Isthedrownedchildfromawealthyorworking-classfamily?Howdoyouknow?

• Whatis‘keening’andcanyouidentifythekeeners inthispainting?

• Whatkindofcrossisabovethedoor.Whatisit madefromandwhatdoesitsymbolise?

Projects: • Researchdifferenttypesofcrossesorreligious

symbolsfromaroundtheglobeanddifferentreligions(Christian/Maltese/StBrigid’s/TheStarofDavid).Drawandmakecrossesusingdifferentmaterials.Researchtheirmeaninganddisplayinthe school.

• Researchanddiscussthenotionoffairykidnappingandothersuperstitiousbeliefs.

FredericWilliamBurton, Paddy Conneely, (d.1850), a Galway Piper, c.1840Discussion points:• MusicisabigpartofIrishculture.Nametraditional

Irishinstruments?• What other area of the Arts or art form is Ireland

knownfor?• WhatmaterialdidBurtonuseandisitaformal

orinformalportrait?Why?Projects: • Makeadrawingofamusicalinstrumentusing

watercolourorinks.• Position a model on a chair holding an instrument.

Sketchthemfromobservationusingthecorrectproportionsofthefigure.NotethepositionofPaddyConneelyonthepage–heisnotinthecentreandheiscropped.Createaninteresting

compositiononyourpagebyplacingthefigureinthe bottom right corner or the bottom left.

JackB.Yeats,Before the Start,1915Discussion points: • JackB.Yeatslovedracemeetings.Canyouthink

ofanyothertypicalIrishsport?• TheYeats’familywereimportantforIrishculture

andheritage.WhowasJackB.Yeats’brotherandwhatishefamousfor?

• Haveyouattendedaracemeeting?Describetheatmosphereandpeopleandwhattheywear.Whatisabookieandwhatdotheydo?Whatisaracecardusedfor?

Projects: • Peopleoftenwearahattotheraces.SeeinYeats’

Before the Start,1915,anumberofhatstyles.Designandmakeahatfromcolouredpaperandcardfor‘LadiesDayattheRaces’.Whathappenson‘LadiesDay’attheraces?

• Whydojockeyswearbrightcostumes?Designacolourfuljockey’stopandcap.

JackB.Yeats(1871–1957),The Country Shop, c.1912Discussion points:• JackB.Yeatswasfascinatedbyplaceslikeshops,

circuses,fairs,harbours,racesandfunerals,wherepeoplegatheredtosocialise,dobusinessortorelax.Discuss.

• Memoryexercise.Lookcarefullyatthepicture. Closeyoureyesandlisteverything.

• Yeatswasanillustrator–describewhatthismeansusingexamplesofhiswork.

Projects:• Writeanimaginativestoryaboutthelifeofthe

countrywomaninthispicture.• ThiscountryshopissetintheWestin1912.Draw

theinteriorofashopthatyoumightfindintheWestofIrelandinthe2000s.Howisitdifferent?

AVisualHistory:Irelandinthe1900sUsethesepaintingstounderstandthesocialandpoliti-calsituationofIrelandinthe1900s.Cross-curricular links:Art,History,Geography,Englishand CSPE

RobertBallagh,Portrait of Noel Browne, (1915–1997), Politician,1985Discussion points: • Whatstyleisthisportraitpaintedin?• Whydoyouthinkthispaintingiscruciformin

shape?Doyouthinkitwouldlookbetterifitwasrectangular?

• WhatisplacedatthefootofNoelBrowne?Aretheserealobjects?Whydidtheartistplacethemthere?

• WhereisNoelBrowneinthispaintingandhow doyouknow?

Projects: • Researchanddiscussanewproposalorlegislation

undertakenbyaspecificgrouporapoliticianinIrelandinthetwentiethortwenty-firstcenturies, orcreateyourownproposal.Organiseadebate(basedonevidence)inordertodiscussthis.

• Paintordrawaportraitofaninspirationalcharacter.Includecluesinyourportraittotellussomethingaboutthecharacterandwhytheyhaveinspiredyou.Encloseyourportraitinadifferentshape,likeBallagh,orincludesomerealobjectsinyourartwork.

SadbhTrínseach(1891–1918),Claude Chavasse Teaching an Irish Class on Achill Island, Co. Mayo,1913–14Discussion points: • Whatishappeninginthisimage?Whatageare

thechildren?Whoistheteacher?• Isthisclassroomdifferenttoyourclassroom?

Whatisdifferentaboutit?• Describethemedium,marksortechniqueused

intheexecutionofthisimage.

Projects: • ResearchanddiscusstheprohibitionoftheIrish

languageinthe1900s.MakealistofwaysinwhichtheIrishgovernmenthastriedtosalvagetheIrishlanguage.ShouldwetrytosavetheIrishlanguage?Whatelsecouldwedotosaveit?

• Whatinitiativescouldbeimplementedinyourschool to highlight the declining use of Irish, e.g.makeschoolsignsinIrish,designposterspromotingtheIrishlanguage,etc.

• AnalyseTrínseach’sstyle.Makeasimilarcharcoaldrawingofyourclassroom.

IrishTraditions,Culture,andHeritageUsetheseimagesoftheWestinordertoexplorewhat itmeanstobeIrishandtofindoutwherethesenotions of‘Irishness’camefromandhowtheydeveloped.Cross-curricular links:Art,History,CSPEandESS

LilianLucyDavidson,Fashions at the Fair, c.1940sDiscussion points: • Thefarmersmarketorfairisacommonactivity.

Haveyoueverbeentoafairormarketandcouldyoudescribetheexperience?

• Whatisbeingsoldatthefair?Whattimeofyeardoyouthinkitisandwhy?

• Notehowpeopledressedinthe1940s.Hasfashionchangedsincethen?Whydoesthenatureandstyle ofclotheschange?

Projects: • Afleamarketiswherepeopleselloldbelongings

ratherthanthrowingthemaway.Isthisagoodidea?Organiseafleamarketinyourschool.Donatethe money to charity or use it to buy materials for theartroom.Whattodo:getpermissionfromtheschoolprincipal,designpostersseekinggoodquality,unwanteditems,collecttheitems,designaposteradvertisingthemarketandsetupandorganise the stalls.

• Writeanimaginativestoryaboutacharacterin thispainting.

Portrait of Noel Browne p.41 Aran Fisherman p.25Claude Chavasse Teaching Irish p.15 Paddy Conneely p.11Fashions at the Fair p.34 Before the Start p.32

52 53

• WhydidKeatingpainther?Hashewitnessedorimaginedthisscene?

• DidhespendtimeontheAranIslands?Whatare themeninthebackgrounddoing?

• Whattransportdidpeopleusetotravelinthe1930s?Howdopeopletraveltoday?

Projects: • Writeapoemaboutthisladyontheislandand

her thoughts.• Doaprojectonemigration,comparingthe1930sto

the2010s.Dothestudentsknowanyonewhohasemigrated?Whereto?Wheredidpeopleemigratetointhe1900s?Whattransportdidtheyuse?LookatdifferentcountriesonmapsandusetheinternettovisualisetheIrishdiaspora.Films,paintings,photographsandbookshavebeenbasedonIrishemigrantstotheUSA,Australiaetc.Useassupportstudies.

WalterFredericOsborne,A Galway Cottage,1893Discussion points:• Howmanypeopleareinthecottage?Aretheyrich

orpoor?Elderlyoryoung?• Dotheylivealone?Ifsowhatdoyouthink

happenedtotheirchildren?• Theladyintheforegroundlooksverysad.Whatdo

youthinksheisthinkingabout?• Doyouthinkitiswarmorcoldinthecottage?

Howdoesthispaintingmakeyoufeel?Projects: • Parentsfindithardwhentheirchildrenemigrate

orgoawaytogainnewexperiences.Isiteasiertocopewiththisinthetwenty-firstcenturythroughmobilephones,internet,Skypeetc.?ImagineyouhavegonetoAmericain1893.Writealettertoyourfamilydescribingtheexperiences–howandwhoyoutravelledwith,howlongittook,thepeopleyoumet.

• Makeaclose-uppaintingordrawingofthiswoman’sface.Trytoshowhersadexpressionandherage.Includeherhairandshawl.

ReligioninIrelandUsetheseimagestoexploretherituals,practicesandrepresentationofCatholicisminearlytwentieth-centuryIreland. Cross-curricular links:Art,HistoryandReligion

GeorgePetrie,Pilgrims at Saint Brigid’s Well, Liscannor, Co. Clare, c.1829–30Discussion points: • Whatapilgrimisandwhydopeoplegoon

pilgrimagestoplaceslikeStBrigid’sWell.• Wouldpeoplegoonapilgrimagenowordoyou

knowanybodywhohasgoneonapilgrimage– whatwastheirexperiencelike?

• WhendidChristianitycometoIreland? WhendidthefestivalofLughnasatakeplace?

Projects: • WriteoutandillustratethestoryofStBrigid.• Paintalandscapescenethatcontainswaterfrom

observationorfromyourimagination.ObservehowtheriverinPetrie’spaintingzig-zagsintothedistance.

AloysiusO’Kelly,Mass in a Connemara Cabin,c.1883Discussion points: • Whywasthepracticeofconductingsacramentsin

people’shouses ratherthaninchapelscommon innineteenthandearlytwentieth-centuryIreland?

• Whatdoesthepictureonthewalltellyouabouttheownersofthehouse?

• Describetheatmosphereinthispainting–calm,quiet,warm,spiritual,homely,pious.

• Notethespaceintheroofmadefromtimber. Whatwasitusedfor?

Projects: • Observetheflickeringofacandleandtrytorecord

thelightusingoranges,yellows,redsandwhite. Tryusingoilpastelsongreysugarpaper.

• Research the ornate robes of the Catholic clergy ortherobesofanyreligiousperson.Describethecoloursandpatternsusedontherobesandgarments.

RomanticIdealsandNotionsabouttheWest IstheWestofIrelanddifferent;whydidartistsgotheretopaintthepeopleandthelandscape;didvisitingartistsintegrateordidtheyfeellikeoutsiders?Explorethesethemes.Cross-curricular links:Art,History,Geography,Scienceand English

WalterFrederickOsborne,A Galway Cottage,c.1893Discussion points: • Discusswhatishappeninginthispainting–

thepeopleandwhattheyaredoing.• Describethepaintingtechniqueandcoloursused

andtheatmosphereitcreates.DoesitmakeyouthinkofoldIreland?Explainwhy.Whyaretherenochildren?

• Wouldyouliketoliveinacottagewithoutwater,electricity,toilet,amobilephone?

Projects: • ResearchandwriteastoryaboutlifeinGalway

c.1893.Describethecottage,itsrooms,wholivesthere,whattheydo–workonafarm,wheredotheycollectwater?

• SourceimagesofanddrawWesterncottagesandmakeminiaturemodelsofthem.

CharlesVincentLamb,Loch an Mhuilinn,1930sDiscussion points: • Describethestyleofthispainting.Isitrealistic?• Whatishappening,whereisLochanMhuilinn,

andwhatisthewomandoing?• Whatistheroofmadefrom?Whyareveryfew

contemporaryroofsmadefromthismaterial? Doanyenvironmentalistsusethismaterialtoday?

• Lambpaintsanidyllicimageoflifeinthe1930s. Wasiteasythen,anddidhethinkso?

• ImagessuchasthesehavebeenusedtosellIreland totourists.Explainanddiscuss.

Projects:• DesignasetofIrishpostcardsforIreland;usethe

paintingsofLamb,Yeats,Keating,MacGonigalandHenryasinspiration.

• Thinkaboutthepastandhowpeoplewashedtheirclothesandthemselves,cookedfood,andboiledwater.Whatdoweusetodaytoaiduswiththesetasks?e.g.kettle,washingmachine,showeretc. Designafutureproducttohelpwithadailytask.

AugustusBurke(c.1838–1891),A Connemara GirlDiscussion points: • Whatageisthegirlinthispaintingandwhatisshe

collecting?• Doesthispaintingaccuratelyrecordwhatlifewas

likeforthisyounggoatherder?Projects: • BurkevisitedConnemaraandwasinterestedin

drawingandpaintinglocalpeopleandscenery,havingpaintedrealisticsubjectslikethisinBrittany.Makeapainting,drawingorphotographofapersoninyourlocalarea.Capturetheroleofthispersonbyplacingtheminaspecificlocation(e.g.thelocalbutcheroutsideofhisshopetc.).

• ResearchthenativefloraoftheBurren,Co.Clare–doesitdiffertoConnemara,Co.Galway?Whatconditionsenablethefloratothriveineitheroftheseenvironments?

PovertyandEmigrationinIrelandManyIrishfamilieslivedinpovertyduringmuchofthenineteenthcentury,especiallythoselivingofftheland,andtheysufferedfurtherhardshipaftertheGreatFam-ine(1845–1850).Theharshlivingconditionscausedpeo-pletoemigrate,apatternthatcontinuedinthetwentiethcentury.Usepaintings todiscusspoverty,emigrationanditseffectonIreland.Cross-curricular links:Art,HistoryandGeography

SeánKeating,A Seascape with Figures,1930sDiscussion points: • Istheladyseatedintheforegroundrichorpoor?

Whyandwhatisshethinkingabout?

Loch an Mhuilinn p.33 Galway Cottage p.29Connemara Girl p.27 St Brigid’s Well p.33Seascape with Figures p.18 Mass in a Connemara Cabin p.28

54 55

• Arethereotherpeopleontheisland?Doyouthinkthereisastormcoming?

• WouldyouliketovisittheAranIslands?Doyouthinktheyarethesameastheywereinthe1900s?Whatdoyouthinkmighthavechanged?

Projects: • IrelandisanislandwiththeIrishSeaononeside

and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. There are manysmallislandsoffthecoastofIreland.LookatoldmapsofIrelandandseehowtheshapeofthecountryhaschanged.Explaincoastalerosion.

• WhatshapewillIrelandhave10,000yearsfromnow?DrawanaerialviewofIreland.

KittyWilmerO’Brien,Clew Bay from Murrisk, Co. Mayo, 1950sKittyWilmerO’Brien,Near Westport, Co. MayoDiscussion points: • DescribethelandscapeinO’Brien’spaintings?

DoesherworklooklikeIreland–why?• Describeherpaintingtechnique.Examinehow

shehastreatedthesky.• TheWestisoftenbelievedtobethetruermore

authenticIreland.Doyouagree?DoesthescenerymatchourvisionandisthatusedtopromoteIrelandtotourists?

Projects: • PaintalandscapeinasimilarstyleasO’Brien,

usingboldcoloursandbrushstrokes.• Describewhatyoumightseewalkingonthepathin

thepaintingNear Westport, Co. Mayo.

NathanielHoneII,The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, c.1890Discussion points: • TheCliffsofMoherareamajortouristattraction.

Name another tourist attraction. • WouldyouvisitIrelandasatourist?Wouldyousee

itdifferentlyifyouwerenotIrish?• Doyoulikethecoloursinthispainting?Describe

thebrushstrokes.Projects: • Makeawatercolourpaintingofanaturalorpopular

tourist attraction. • Examineandanalysetourismcampaigns.How

isthiscountrypromotedandsoldtotourists?Generateyourownopinionabouttheseadvertsandcampaigns. Aretheytruthful?Howcouldtheybeimproved?

JackB.Yeats,A Cleric, 1913Discussion points: • Whereisthispriestbasedandhowdoyouknow?

Notetheenvironmentaroundhim.• WhatdoyouthinkisYeats’opinionofthisman?

Doeshethinkhighlyofhim?• Whatmediumisthisimagepaintedin?Describe

the colour theme. • ThepriesthadanimportantroleinIrelandinthe

1900s.Howhasthischanged?Projects: • Yeatspaintedthisimageofaclerictoaccompanya

passageinGeorgeA.Birmingham’sbookIrishmen All. Thisbookwasamildlysatirical,humorousstudyonthemaincharactersofaprovincialtown.NamethemaincharactersofasmalltowninIreland?Writeaboutamaincharacterfromyourtownorschool.

• Provideanillustrationforyourdescriptivepassage(Research Irishmen All.ReadthepassagesandenjoyYeats’illustrationsofthedifferentcharacters).

AgriculturalIrelandIrelandhasasignificantreputationasanagriculturalcountryduetothehighqualityofIrishfarmed,fishedandpackagedfoods.Usethesepaintingstodiscussandexplain this long-standing tradition.Discusshowthistraditionmightbedevelopedinthetwenty-firstcentury.Cross-curricular links: Art, History, Geography andHomeEconomics

PaulHenry,The Potato Diggers,1912Discussion points: • Whatarethesepeoplediggingforanddoyouthink

itiseasywork?• In the nineteenth century many families struggled

tosurvive.Conditionsweretoughandmanyfarmershadlessthan15acres.Artists,suchasHenry,Yeats,KeatingandLamb,portrayedtheseworkersinaheroicmanner.Why?

• DescribethecompositionandHenry’sstyleofpainting.

Projects: • Drawapersonatworkordoingexercise.• Henrywasgoodatpaintingcloudsgivingthem

volumeandmass.Lookatcloudsandmakeadetailedstudyusingdifferenttonalvariationstocreate the illusion of form.

• Theever-changingskyisthekeytoWesternlandscapes.Discuss.

GerardDillon,The Little Green Fields, c.1946–50Discussion points: • Whereisthispaintingsetandhowdoyouknow?

Describetheflat,colourful,simplestyle.• Discusswhatishappening–doesthepicture

describe rural Ireland (the cottages, high crosses, dolmenandruins)andportrayanancientcountrywitharichheritage?

Projects: • Dillon’spaintingislikeamapoftheWest.Drawa

bird’seyeviewofyourarea.• Thispaintingdoesnotcontainperspective.Explain

whatonepointperspectiveisandusethispainting toshowhowyoucandistortperspectivetocreate an image.

IrishLandscapePaintingTheIrishlandscapeisattractivetotouristsanditreflectscertaincharacteristics,e.g.wild,rugged,lush,green,hilly,stonyandcoastal.Whatotherfeaturescanyousuggest?Learnabouthowthisimagewascreatedandwhetheritisatruedepictionofthecountryornot.Cross-curricular links: Art, History, Geography and Science

GeorgePetrie,Dun Aonghasa, Inishmore, Aran Islands, c.1827Discussion points: • TheAranIslandsareofftheGalwaycoast.

Inishmoreisthelargest.Petrieshowsamanwithhis daughter on the edge of the island. They are verysmallincomparisontothecliffedgeandwaves.Howdoesthismakeyoufeel?

A Cleric p. 17 Dun Aonghusa p.6Potato Diggers p.31 Near Westport p.38Little Green Fields p.37 Cliffs of Moher p.12

56 57

3)Comparetwodifferentpaintingsfromthesameeraorpaintedinasimilarstyle:• MainieJellett(1897–1944),Achill Horses,1941• GerardDillon(1916–1971),The Little Green Fields,c.1946–50

artist title date subjectmatter style technique

Jellett AchillHorses 1940s HorsesonAchillIsland modern,flat,cubist,geometric,complex

oilpaint

Dillon TheLittleGreenFields

1940s Farm,WestofIreland modern,childish,flat,playful,colourful

oilpaint

PaulHenry’sThe Potato Diggers,1912(p.33).Perspectiveiscreatedbyoverlapping. Thefiguresareinfrontofthemountainbecausetheyoverlapthemountain.Themountain isinfrontoftheskybecauseitoverlapstheclouds.Atmosphericperspectiveiswhenthingsinthebackgroundormiddlegroundturnashadeofbluee.g.likethemountaininthispainting.

Compare(Similarities)andContrast(Differences)ProjectLearninghowtoobserveandimprovingvisualliteracycanbeachievedbycomparingandcontrastingtwodifferentpaintings.

Compare(similarities)andcontrast(differences)accordingto:Subjectmatter Style Technique Artist Date

Someexamples:1)Comparetwodifferentpaintingsbythesameartist:• FredericWilliamBurton(1816–1900),In Joyce Country (Connemara, Co. Galway),c.1840• FredericWilliamBurton,The Aran Fisherman’s Drowned Child,1841

artist title date Subjectmatter style technique

Burton In Joyce Country c.1840 Connemara,Galway,landscape,stonewallandcottage,younggirlwithshawlandbasket,life in the country, dress and fashion

sketchy,paleearthtones

watercolour

Burton The Aran Fisherman’sDrownedChild

1841 death, countryside, family, old traditions, genre scene, life in the country, dress and fashion

finishedpainting,realistic, light shining through the house, highlights and shadows

watercolourusingoverlapping layerstoachievericher colours

2)Comparetwodifferentpaintingswithsomewhatsimilarsubjectmatter:• BartholomewCollesWatkins(1833–1891), A View of the Killaries, from Leenane• SeánKeating(1889–1977),A Seascape with FiguresorPaulHenry(1876–1958),Launching the Currach,

1910–11

artist title date subjectmatter style technique

Watkins AViewoftheKillaries,fromLeenane

Connemara,theWest,Killaryharbour,menatworkintheevening,goingouttosea,mountainsandmist,landscape,agenre scene

veryfinished,realistic,atmospheric,duskypurplesandpinks

oilpaint,atmosphericandlinearperspective

Keating

Henry

ASeascape withFiguresLaunchingtheCurrach

The Aran Islands, Connemara, Achill Island, the West, harbour,thesea,menatworkintheday,observer,cominghome,genresceneandland/seascape

earth colours, highlights, some bright colours,areasrapidlypainted,areasmoresmoothlypainted

oilpaint,differentplanestoshowperspectivehorizonline foreground detailbackgrounddetail

Left Centre Right

Shadowsin the folds of thedrapery

Tone creating mass or form

Differenttones usedtoshow textureoftheearth

Foreground:twoladiesstanding on a mound of earth

Middleground:blue mountain

Background: skywithclouds

58 59

VisualLiteracyProjectUse some of these art terms to discuss and describe paintings:• Photocopysomeofthearttermsas‘flashcards’.• Cutupthewordsandusetheminindividual

projectsand/orinagroupwork.• Displaythearttermsaroundonthewallofthe

classroomsothestudentshavetheopportunitytostudythem.Placethestudent-maderesponseswitheach art term.

• Givethestudentsathemeforacollageusingarttermse.g.awindsweptlandscapeonastonyoutcrop.Selectthewordscarefullysothethemeof the collage can be understood. Allocate time for thisproject.Whencompleted,askthestudentstodescribeandexplaintheircollage.

• Circulatetheseriesofarttermswithimagesofthepaintings.Askthestudentstoselectwhateverwordsbestdescribeeachoftheartworks.Alloweverystudenttheopportunitytodiscussanddescribeanartworktotheclass.

• Suggestmakinganartwork,usingonlytwocolours inresponsetoanartterm.Exhibitalltheworksintheclassroomsothedifferentresponsescanbeseen.Askeachstudenttodiscusstheirchoiceofartterm,whytheyselectedthosecoloursandwhatdotheyfeelistheeffectorbenefitofpaintinginjust twocolours?

Visual Literacy and Art Terms

Visual literacy is learninghow to read anddiscuss apainting. It istryingtofigureoutwhatthepainting isabout,orwhattheartististryingtosay,bysolelylook-ingatthepaintingorobject.Beingabletotalkaboutartisanimportantpartofbothactivelearningandtheenjoymentofart.Thismaterialishelpfulinthedevelop-mentofgeneralliteracyskills,justasconcepts,likescale,size,perspective,proportionetc.,canbeusedinsupportofartisticnumeracy.Usethepaintingstructuredwithwordstohelpdiscussanddescribepaintings.

ArttermsanddescriptivelanguageCategory:Landscape Seascape Genrescene Historical Narrative

Descriptivewords: Usethesewordstohelpyoudiscuss/describeworksofart:Rugged Barren Wild Windy CoastalRich Earthly Dangerous Bleak DryRocky Idyllic Beautiful Peaceful EmptyCrowded Dull Grey Cloudy OvercastStormy Sunny Bright Dark UnspoiledAgricultural Painterly Pattern Shape/form RuralFeatures Mood Imaginative Evocative PortrayShadows Shade Movement Sketch RusticFresh Warm Solitary Free IsolatedLandscape Seascape Misty Stony Open-airpainting

Paintingstyle/techniques:Messy Neat Rigid Expressive Impressionistic ImpastoFlat Realistic Controlled Outlined Defined

Mood:Sad Sentimental Lonely Happy EnergeticChildish Mysterious Moody Atmospheric

Paintingmaterials:Oil Watercolours Charcoal Pencil Chalks Inks

60 III

National Gallery of Ireland: CarolineClarke,IrinaCleary,JoanneDrum,SinéadFarrelly,LydiaFurlong,RoyHewson,AnneHodge,ValerieKeogh,RaffaellaLanino,CaomhánMacConIomaire,MarieMcFeely,AndrewMoore,OrlaO’Brien,CaoilteOMahony,SeanRainbird,BrendanRooneyandNGIDigitalMediaServices:AndreaLydonandCatherine Ryan MaryDaly,JulieDauntandNicolaGordonBowe

TheDepartmentofArts,HeritageandtheGaeltachtTheDepartmentofEducationandSkillsInassociationwithMatheson

Published in 2014 byThe National Gallery of IrelandMerrionSquareWestDublin 2Ireland

Text Copyright©MarieBourke,DonalMaguire(listed entries), Sarah Edmondson (guidelines for teachers), andtheNationalGalleryofIreland2014.

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorpermissionoftheNationalGallery of Ireland.

Designer: Jason EllamsEditor:MarieBourkeCopy Editor: Penny IremongerPrinted in Ireland by:

All photos ©NationalGalleryofIreland

Cover:KittyWilmerO’Brien(1910–1982), Clew Bay from Murrisk, County Mayo,1950s. Oilonboard,36x71cm.Purchased,2000.NGI.4682Photo©NationalGalleryofIreland.©TheArtist’sEstate.

Inside front/back cover:MapofIrelandandofthe West of Ireland

ISBN978-1-904288541

Acknowledgements

LEITRIM

SLIGOMAYO

^^^

^^

^^

GALWAY

ROSCOMMON

CLARE

SLIGO

CASTLEBAR

ACHILL ISLAND

ARAN ISLANDS

Cliffs of Moher

The Burren

Lough Derg

River Shannon

Ben Bulben

Croagh PatrickMweelrea Mts.

Twelve Pins

GALWAY BAY

WESTPORT

CLIFDEN

ROSCOMMON

GALWAY

ENNIS

ATLANTIC OCEAN

ST. GEORGE'S CHANNEL

Lough Ree

Lough Allen

The West of Ireland

IV