Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone: Irish women who were ahead of their time 

Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone may not have been fully appreciated by their contemporaries, but a new exhibition underlines the talents of both artists

A detail from Achill Horses, by Mainie Jellett, part of the exhibition also featuring Evie Hone's work at the National Gallery of Ireland. 

Few artistic relationships have been as long or productive as that maintained by Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone. In London, Paris and their native Dublin, they created some of the most innovative Irish art of the early 20th century, often in the face of critical opprobrium and the bewilderment of their peers. 

A broad selection of their work as pioneers of abstraction and Cubism in this country is currently showing at the National Gallery of Ireland, in the exhibition Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone: The Art of Friendship.