Patrick Graham, artist: 'I’d lie down in the poppies, looking up at the sky'
Patrick Graham, artist.
Patrick Graham’s status as one of Ireland’s most celebrated painters was confirmed by his recent retrospective, Transfiguration, at Dublin City Gallery: The Hugh Lane. For a long time, however, he was a divisive figure, one whose paintings confounded critics and the public alike. It took years of hard work and perseverance, and the support of a Hollywood legend, before he established himself as a major force in the art world.
As underlined by his pieces at the current group exhibition, Festival, at Hillsboro Fine Art Gallery in Dublin, much of what Graham paints is autobiographical. Born in Mullingar in 1943, he watched his family fracture as a child. His father decamped to England, seeking work, and seldom returned. Then his mother fell ill with TB, and he and his siblings were farmed out to different relatives. In his case, he was sent to live with his grandparents, the Montgomerys, who were well-known market gardeners.
