© Elizabeth Cope, photo © Anthony Hobbs

PressRelease17/07/18 NakedTruth:TheNudeinIrishArt13July–29October,2018

CrawfordArtGallery isdelighted topresentamajorexhibitionNakedTruth:TheNude in IrishArt. Frommediaeval Sheela-na-gigs to the contemporaryartofDorothyCross, theexhibition surveys theneglectedsubjectoftherichtraditionoftheportrayalofthenudeinIrishvisualart.Withover80worksthisspectacularexhibitionpresentsthenudeandthenakedbodyasdepictedbyIrishartists.Focusingontheinterconnectingdiscoursesofpoliticalallegory,gender,sexuality,censorshipanddisplay,theexhibitionfeaturesoverfortyartistsincludingFrancisBacon,JamesBarry,PaulineBewick,AmandaCoogan,MainieJellett,DraganaJurisic,AliceMaher,WilliamOrpen,KathyPrendergast,RobertBallagh,SarahPurser,NigelRolfeandWilliamWilles.

CuratedbyWilliamLaffanandDawnWilliamstheexhibitionassertstheexistenceofarichhistoryofthedepictionandnecessityofutilisingthenudeandtheunclothedbodyintheworkandpracticeofIrishartists.Theexhibitionwillfeatureover80worksfrompublic,collectionsincludingTATE,NationalGalleryofIreland,IrishMuseumofModernArtandtheUlsterMuseumalongsideartworksfromartist’sandprivatecollections.

Inrecenttimes,thediscussionoftheIrishnudeassubjectmatterhasbeensaidbysomecommentators,asnottoexist,orattheveryleasttobeaninventionofthelate1970s.Asrecentlyas2010,theartistMickO’Deacouldwrite:‘Evenfundamentalistcultureshaveproducedmorenudesthatwehave’.1CatherineMarshallwould write in 2016 that ‘despite a few paintings, such as Barrie Cooke’s Sheela-na-gigs, there was noestablishedgenreofthenudeinthiscountryuntilMichealFarrell’sMadonnaIrlandain19772’.Therehas,infact,beenalongtraditionofIrishartistspaintingthenude,withdistinguishedcontributionstothegenreby,amongmanyothers,JamesBarry,HughDouglasHamilton,MargaretClarke,RodericO’ConorandMainieJellet.Indeed,therewereenoughIrishartistsengagingactivelywiththesubjectmattertolendahelpinghandtotheartistictraditionofourneighbouringisland.ThecatalogueoftheexhibitionExposed:TheVictorianNude(Tate,2001)putforwardasevidencefortheemergenceofadistinctlyEnglishnudeworksbyIrishartistsincluding,ironically,DanielMacliseOriginsoftheHarpand,inparticular,theartofWilliamOrpenandWilliamMulready,notingofthelatterthat‘theIrishmancametoberegardedasthemodernmasteroftheEnglishnude’.3Acknowledgingthelargenumberofartistswhohaveengagedfruitfullywiththenudeisnottodenythat,attimes,theIrishhavehadaproblematicrelationshipwiththecorporealandthat,inevitably,thishasimpactedonartisticproduction.WhentheprovisionofanartschoolinCorkwasbeingdiscussedin1818,oneofthesuggestedbenefitswasthatyoungartistswouldnothavetotraveltoLondontostudywheretheywouldbefacedwith‘drawingfromlivingmodels,beforethemoralsarematured’.4ThedenialofatraditionoftheIrishnude is usually, if implicitly, linked to theprominenceof theCatholic church forgetting that someof thegreatestnudesinWesternartsuchasVelázquez’sRokebyVenusandGoya’sNudeMayawereproducedbySpanishartistswiththeInquisitionratherthanArchbishopMcQuaid(1895-1973)tocontendwith.Thisisnot,however,tosaythatthedisplayofthenudeintwentiethcenturyIrelandwasnotuncontentious–thesubjecthas,forexample,traditionallyformedasmall(thoughnotentirelynegligible)proportionoftheRHAAnnualExhibitionexhibits.ThefirstexhibitionoftheIrishNude,amodest,rathertentativeshowofjustfourteenworks,washeldaspartofRosc ’71and includedworksbyPatrickCollins,ColinMiddletonandGeorgeCampbellandonewomanartist,CamilleSouter.InanaccompanyingtexttellinglyentitledThePuritanNude,BrianO’Dohertypositedadefensive relationshipbetween Irishartistsand the subjectarguing thatartists includingLouisLeBrocquyandPatrickCollins ‘poeticise indistinctness’meaningthat ‘thesubject is‘touched,summoned,andthenavoidedbypartiallyloosingitinanenvironmentalveil’.Ofcourse,therewereartistspaintingthenudeatexactlythisperiodwhocertainlydidnotadoptindirectasO’Dohertyterms‘strategiesofavoidance’.Irishartistshaveusedthenudeandunclothedbodytoexplorealargenumberofthemes,fromthepersonaltopolitical,fromsexualitytodisplay.Theupturnoftheperceived‘natural’orderofmenbeingartistsandwomenbeingmodels,mistressesandwives,isillustratedinsomeofthemostexcitingchangesinthepresentationofthefemalenudehavingbeenintroducedbywomenandtheexhibitionfeaturesworkbyformidableartists includingDorothyCross,AmandaCoogan,SarahPurserandMeganEustace.Withthecommercialidealbodyofthe21stcenturyatoddswiththeworksbeingproducedbyartistscreatedtoconfront today’sattitudesandanxieties, thenakedand thenude is stilla relevantanddivisivesubjectmatterincontemporarysociety.Ends1MickO’DeaIrishArtsReview,Spring20102CatherineMarshall,inFintanO’Toole[ed.],ModernIrelandin100Artworks[Dublin2016]p.186.3AlisonSmith(ed.),inExposed,TheVictorianNude,ExhibitionCatalogue,TateBritain(London,2001)p.544ConsiderationsontheUtilityoftheCastsPresentedbyH.R.H.ThePrinceRegent(Cork,1819).

DyaneHanrahanMarketing&CommunicationsManagerEdyanehanrahan@crawfordartgallery.ieT+353(0)214907856M+353(0)868278151Wwww.crawfordartgallery.ieCrawfordArtGallery,EmmetPlace,Cork,Ireland.MoreabouttheCrawfordartgallery:LocatedintheheartofCorkcity,TheCrawfordArtGallery,anationalculturalInstitutionisamustseeforlocalsandtouristsalike,welcomingalmost200,000visitorsayear.TheCrawfordArtGalleryishometoanexpansivecollectionfeaturingworksfromthe18thCenturytopresent.Itisalsohometothefamous‘CanovaCasts’,whichweregiftedtothecityofCorknearlytwocenturiesago.Well-knownandloved20thcenturyIrishartistssuchasSeánKeating,HarryClarke,JohnLavery,JackB.Yeats,NorahMcGuinness,GerardDillon,andMurielBrandt feature in thegallery’shistoric collection,while themoderncollectionfeaturesworkbycontemporaryartistssuchasEilisO’Connell,MaudCotterandHughieO’Donoghue.TheGalleryhostsnumeroustemporaryexhibitionsbylocal,nationalandinternationalartistsshowcasingvisualart,performanceandinstallations.Thearchitectureofthebuildingcombiningthemodernnewgallerieswiththehistorical,givesabreath-takingbackdroptoacollectionofgreatnationalimportance.LearnandExploreFordetailsontheLearnandexploreprogrammeforNakedTruth,guidedtours,accessandeducation,pleasevisitourwebsite:www.crawfordartgallery.ieTOURSFriday13July1pmcuratorialtour–freebutticketedEVENTBRITEDETAILSThursday20September1pmCurator’stour–freebutticketedEVENTBRITEDETAILSSaturday14July2pmSaturdaysummertourstoincludecastsandNakedTruthotherdates:21and28july;4,11,18,25Augustand1SeptemberSchooltoursfromSeptember TALKSThursday20September6pmWilliamLaffan18centuryart/jamesbarry‘TheIrishareleadingonpaintingthenudeinBritain’Thursday4OctoberTalkseewebsitefordetailscloserthetimeThursday11OctoberTalkseewebsitefordetailscloserthetimeThursday18or25October

TalkseewebsitefordetailscloserthetimeDrawingtheNudeDrawdirectlyfromlifeintheSculptureGallery. ArtistHelleHelsnerwillleadthesesessions Suitableforalllevels;beginners,improversorpracticingartists. Drawingmaterialsandeaselssupplied. Thursday27Sept-6.15pm-7.45pm Thursday4Oct-6.15pm-7.45pm Thursday11Oct-6.15pm-7.45pm Thursday18Oct-6.15pm-7.45pm

Ticketedeventandbookingessential/placeslimitedto12 5europersessionor15euroforthe4weeksForbooking:EVENTBRITEDETAILS