Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
41 versions of the scene. Monet—the master of capturing hazy, filtered light—loved Lon-
don for its fog. With the Thames in the foreground, the bridge in the middle, and belching
smokestacks in the distance, Monet had three different layers of atmospheric depth to ex-
plore.
Also in Room 1 is
Portrait of Hugh Lane
by the American society portraitist John
Singer Sargent. In 1905, the dapper Sir Hugh, an art dealer, bought Monet's
Waterloo
Bridge
aspartofhismissiontobringmodernarttoprovincialDublin(seeaDegaspainting
nearby). Unfortunately, Sir Hugh went down on the
Lusitania
in 1915 and didn't see this
gallery open.
Room 3
is devoted to Jack B. Yeats—the famous poet's little brother—who had a long
career as a magazine illustrator, novelist, set designer for the Abbey Theatre, painter, and
even Ireland's first Olympic medalist (for art). Yeats helped establish the modern move-
ment in Ireland, and he encouraged Hugh Lane to patronize Irish artists. In his own paint-
ings, Yeats turned to the Irish countryside and common laborers for subjects. Over time,
his style evolved from realistic rural scenes to thickly painted, swirling works at the edge
of abstraction. In
Room 4,
check out the next generation of Irish artists Yeats influen-
ced—abstract and Pop Art of the 1970s and 1980s.
Francis Bacon Studio:
Although he spent most of his life in London, Francis Bacon
(1909-1992) was born in Dublin and raised in nearby Naas. After his death, his entire Lon-
don studio was reconstructed here, just as the artist had left it.
After a wandering youth of odd jobs and petty crime, Bacon took up painting in his
late thirties. He jumped onto the art stage in 1945 with his bleak canvases of twisted, de-
formed, screaming-mouthed men caged in barren landscapes—which hauntingly captured
the mood of post-WWII Europe. He would become Britain's premier painter, but he con-
tinued to live simply. He stayed in his small, cramped flat with an even smaller studio
(this one) for his entire life. Here he painted his famous series of “Heads”—portraits of his
friends, especially of his life partner, George Dyer.
The place is a mess—empty paint cans, slashed canvases, books, photos, and newspa-
pers everywhere—leaving only enough space for Bacon to set up his canvas in the middle
of it all and paint. (If I were caged here, I'd scream.) As trashed as the studio is, it reflects
Bacon's belief that “chaos breeds energy.”
Spend 10 minutes with the 1985 filmed interview of Bacon, which was conducted in
the studio. He speaks articulately about his work and reminisces about his down-and-out
days.Innearbyroomsaretouchscreenterminals,photosofBacon,afewunfinishedworks,
and display cases of personal items, such as his coffee-table book on Velázquez, the Old
Master who inspired Bacon's famous portrait of a screaming pope.
