Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sir Hugh Lane & his Bequest
The gallery owes its origins to one Sir Hugh Lane (1875-1915). Born in County Cork,
Lane worked in London art galleries before setting up his own gallery in Dublin. He had a
connoisseur's eye and a good nose for the directions of the market, which enabled him to
build up a superb collection, particularly strong in Impressionists.
Unfortunately for Ireland, neither his talents nor his collection were much appreciated.
Irish rejection led him to rewrite his will and bequeath some of the finest works in his col-
lection to the National Gallery in London. Later he relented and added a rider to his will
leaving the collection to Dublin. However, he failed to have it witnessed, thus causing a
long legal squabble over which gallery had rightful ownership.
The collection (known as the Hugh Lane Bequest 1917 ) was split in a complicated 1959 set-
tlement that sees some of the paintings moving back and forth. The conditions of the ex-
changes are in the midst of negotiation, but for now the gallery has Manet's La Musique
Aux Tuileries , Degas' Bains de Mer , and Lavacourt under Snow by Monet.
Francis Bacon Studio
Impressionist masterpieces notwithstanding, the gallery's most popular exhibit is the Fran-
cis Bacon Studio , which was painstakingly moved, in all its shambolic mess, from 7 Reece
Mews, South Kensington, London, where the Dublin-born artist (1909-92) lived for 31
years. The display features some 80,000 items madly strewn about the place, including
slashed canvases, the last painting he was working on, tables piled with materials, walls
daubed with colour samples, portraits with heads cut out, favourite bits of furniture and
many assorted piles of crap. It's a teasing and tantalising, riveting and ridiculous master-
piece that provides the viewer no real sense of the artist himself. Far more revealing is the
10-minute profile of him with Melvyn Bragg and the immensely sad photographs of Ba-
con's immaculately tidy bachelor pad, which suggest a deep, personal loneliness.
Elsewhere in the Gallery
The new wing is also home to a permanent collection of seven abstract paintings by Irish-
born, New York-based Sean Scully , probably Ireland's most famous living painter.
You can round off a satisfying visit with lunch in the superb cafe ( Click here ) in the
basement, before making a stop in the well-stocked gift shop (Parnell Sq N, Charlemont House,
Northside) .
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