Upcoming Event-Thursday

Put this on your Irish Arts calendar for this week:

The Delighted Eye; 20th Century Irish Landscape Painting - Free Public Lecture

Presenter: Dr. Sighle Bhreathnach-Lynch, Curator of Irish Art, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Thusday, October 18, 6:00–7:00 pm

Atkins Auditorium, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

This talk centers on the exciting changes in the tradition of Irish landscape painting in the 20th century. It discusses the seminal importance of the West of Ireland for all artists, literary and artistic, at the beginning of that century. This hauntingly beautiful place was not only to inspire artists for aesthetic reasons but was to intersect with the island's cultural and political identity. An analysis of the myriad ways of seeing the land reveals the very individualistic nature of Irish art. This is especially noticeable from the mid-century onwards when artistic styles ranged from the figurative to a large number of highly abstracted pictures. The effect of the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland on landscape art provides a fascinating glimpse into the different responses by artists North and South. Some of the artists covered in this illustrated presentation include: Paul Henry, Louis Le Brocquy, Jack B. Yeats, Annie Madden, Kathy Prendergast, and William Crozier.

Dr. Sighle Bhreathnach-Lynch is a seasoned lively lecturer. Her publications include: Paul Nash (2003), Art, Nation and Gender: Ethnic Landscapes, Myths and Mother-figures (2003), and Discover Irish Art at the National Gallery of Ireland: a Reference Book on Irish Art (1999). Her latest book is Ireland's Art / Ireland's History: Representing Ireland, 1845 to Present, published by Creighton University Press (10/2007). She has held her current post at the National Gallery since 1996.

This free presentation for everyone is the Plenary Session for the 31st annual Midwest American Conference for Irish Studies (MACIS), hosted 18-20 October 2007, by the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Dr. Joan FitzPatrick Dean, Curators’ Teaching Professor, is the UMKC conference organizer

For more information, contact Joan Dean, UMKC English Department (email: deanj@umkc.edu / tel. 816.235.2555) or Marilyn Carbonell, Head of Library Services, Spencer Art Reference Library, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (email: mcarbonell@nelson-atkins.org / tel. 816.751.1381).

This event is sponsored by The Kansas City Irish Fest.