Esteemed collection for art gallery

A PRIZED and significant collection of Irish art was unveiled at its permanent home in Cork’s Crawford Art Gallery last night.

The acquisition of the Great Southern hotels’ art collection includes 90 paintings, prints and sculptures spanning the period between 1947 and 1974 — important decades in the development of the visual arts in Ireland.

The gallery was last year designated the first National Cultural Institution to be located outside Dublin. This collection further strengthens the gallery’s holdings in 20th century Irish art.

And, when seen in the context of the gallery’s Gibson bequest acquisitions and the more recent bequest of the Fr John McGrath collection, this new acquisition confirms the emergence of the gallery as a centre of national and international importance for the conservation and display of Irish art, a gallery spokesman said.

Arts Minister John O’Donoghue unveiled the collection last night.

The minister said he was delighted the exhibition would be appreciated and enjoyed by the people of Munster for generations to come.

“Indeed, it has been a great pleasure for me personally to oversee the transformation of the Crawford Art Gallery into the first National Cultural Institution to be located in its entirety outside Dublin,” he said.

The Great Southern Hotels Group, which amassed the collection, was part of the State-owned CIE.

The works were previously displayed in hotels in Killarney, Parknasilla, Cork, Rosslare, Galway and Dublin.

When the hotel chain was sold by the Dublin Airport Authority last year, the collection was transferred to the ownership of the State. The Crawford secured the collection last December.

“The presentation of the collection by the Government to the Crawford Art Gallery is a significant privilege for the gallery and the people of Munster,” gallery chairman John Bowen said.

“However, this is only the beginning of a new chapter in the gallery’s history and we look forward to continuing to develop the collection, concentrating on Irish art but also including international works relevant to the gallery’s mission.”

Gallery director Peter Murray praised Minister O’Donoghue for his efforts in securing the future of the collection. “I can also confirm that highlights of the collection will tour the country giving everyone a chance to appreciate and enjoy them,” he said.

The collection will exhibit at the gallery until June 2.