'The Fantastic In Irish Art' Exhibition At Ireland National Gallery

From the work of illustrator Richard Doyle (1824-83) to the impressive stained-glass artist, Harry Clarke (1889-1931), and sculptor Oliver Sheppard (1865-1941), these artists created evocative and fascinating works of art intended to delight or unsettle their audience.

Dr. Róisín Kennedy, curator of the show and author of the accompanying exhibition brochure, says that each artwork displays an awareness and understanding of the 'Fantastic'. This is concerned with awakening the viewer's imagination and challenging conventional ways of seeing by drawing their attention to the ambiguity of everyday experience.

Contemporary European and Anglo-Irish literature was often a vital resource for artists, especially in the work of Harry Clarke, whose stained-glass panel piece, The Song of the Mad Prince (1917), was inspired by Walter de La Mare's poem. In this intricate and highly coloured glass work set in a walnut cabinet, the artist depicts the image of a young man standing between his parents at the graveside of his lover, creating a particular aura for its viewer, one that 'transcends the mundane realities of its domestic setting.'

In Richard Doyle's watercolour The Triumphal Entry, a Fairy Pageant, the artist depicts fairies enjoying an official parade, a theme inspired by late 19th century interest in folklore and fairytales. Doyle specialised in these scenes, many of which were accompanied by verses by the Irish-born writer, William Allingham.
Among the other artists represented in the show are William Orpen (Merchant Arch), George Russell (Spirit or Sidhe in a landscape) Wilhemina Geddes (Cinderella Undressing her Ugly Sister), Beatrice Glenavy (Prayer for a Little Child), Art O'Murnaghan (Men of the Coasts) and Dan O'Neill (Scarecrows at Newtownards).

The exhibition will be on display in the Print Gallery until 12th August 2007. Admission is free.

'The Fantastic in Irish Art' was curated by Dr. Róisín Kennedy, Yeats Curator, assisted by Anne Hodge and Niamh MacNally of the Prints and Drawings Department. The works for the exhibition are drawn from the National Gallery's collection of prints and drawings and Yeats Archive, as well from public and private collections. -- www.nationalgallery.ie