However, while the Crawford Art Gallery is closed for a major renovation of the building, four new artworks were acquired by Crawford Art Gallery for the National Collection.
Mary McCarthy, Director and Jean O’Donovan, Registrar of Crawford Art Gallery unveiled the new works in photos, confirming that the newly acquired Keatings, Souter and Henry will go on public display after the gallery reopens.
Sean Keating’s Elijah with the Ravens, Version II (1930) and his self-portrait, c.1961, along with Winter Evening, Calary (1964) by abstract and landscape artist Camille Souter and Attic Bedroom (date unknown) by Grace Henry were all purchased with the support of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
Jean O’Donovan, Registrar, and Mary McCarthy, Director of the Crawford Art Gallery. Photo: Joleen Cronin
The acquisitions bring to 15 the number of Keating works in Crawford Art Gallery’s collection. Keating, born in 1889 in Limerick, is considered one of Ireland’s leading painters of the first half of the twentieth century.
One of Keating’s best-loved paintings, Men of the South, depicting men of the 2nd North Cork Brigade of the IRA awaiting an ambush, is in Crawford Art Gallery’s collection. In November 2023 Crawford purchased The Window, a tender depiction of Keating’s wife, May, at a Dublin auction.
While the gallery is closed, staff continue to work on care of the collection of over 3,500 artworks. The collection is being decanted into secure storage throughout the winter of 2024 for the duration of the building’s renovations.
“This is a fantastic coup for Crawford Art Gallery and for the National Collection,” Crawford Art Gallery director Mary McCarthy said of the acquisitions.