Painting in the West of Ireland
27 Sept. - 1 Dec. 2013
George William Russell (AE) (1867-1935)
Shining Shallows (1908)
Oil on canvas, 40.5 x 61.5 cm
The Niland Collection
Introduction – Notes for the teacher before visiting the exhibition
The exhibtion Painting in the West of Ireland is made up of 20 artworks selected
from the Niland Collection by the Assistant Curator, Jennifer Mongan. Within this
selection, there are watercolour paintings, oil paintings, installations, lithographs,
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ink drawings, an etching and a pastel drawing on paper. When the student arrives
in the Niland Gallery, they will look and distinguish between the different mediums
used in this selection of artworks in the gallery. Also the young visitors will
examine the overarching theme of the exhibition; which is landscape painting in the
West of Ireland, told through myths and portraits as portrayed by writers and
painters. In other words, poems, stories, people and paintings, which have being
inspired by the landscape in the West of Ireland. This education pack has activities
to do in the classroom and also activities to do during the visit to the gallery, so
don!t forget your pencil and some paper.
This exhibition features works by Percy French, Paul Henry, George William
Russell, Seán Keating, Maurice McGonigal, Jack B.Yeats, Nano Reid, Louis Le
Brocquy, Barrie Cooke, Nick Miller, Sean McSweeney and Dorothy Cross.
Draw a picture to a poem
Read the poem Frolic written by the artist and poet George William Russell, who
also used the pen-name AE. This was a spiritual name, that he choose for himself,
and meant AEON. If you look closely, in the lower right hand corner of his painting,
Shining Shallows, you can see that he has signed these initials, AE. Draw a
picture using the images from this poem. AE was a close friend to Jack B.Yeats
and William B.Yeats and often came on painting holidays to Sligo and Donegal.
When you are visiting the exhibition have a closer look at the painting Shining
Shallows and your teacher can read the poem aloud, while you are looking at the
painting.
Frolic
The children were shouting together
And racing along the sands,
A glimmer of dancing shadows,
A dovelike flutter of hands
The stars were shouting in heaven,
The sun was chasing the moon:
The game was the same as the children!s,
They danced to the self-same tune.
The whole of the world was merry,
One joy from the vale to the height,
Where the blue woods of twilight encircled
The lovely lawns of light.
By George William Russell, AE
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Draw a landscape inspired by the poem
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Illustrations of An Táin by Louis Le Brocquy
There are three lithographs by Louis le Brocquy in this exhibition and they are all
based on the old Irish story called the Táin. Louis le Brocquy painted several
hundred calligraphic brush drawings over a period of six months for his illustration
of the Táin. 133 illustrations were printed in the edition and the text was translated
from Irish by the poet, Thomas Kinsella. The poet Seamus Heaney described the
artists! drawings as, "shadows thrown by the text.!
"Táin Bó Cuailnge! translates as "the driving off the cows of Cooley! and it is also
known as The Cattle Raid of Cooley. It is set in the first century AD and tells the
story of the war against the men of Ulster by the Connacht queen Meave and her
husband Ailill. Maeve!s intention was to keep the brown bull of Cooley from the
people of Ulster by treacherous means. The 17-year old Cúchulainn (the hound of
Ulster) fought against Maeve!s army and her warrior Ferdia.
The three depictions in this exhibition are of the warrior, Cúchulainn, the goddess,
Morrigan and Queen Maeve. These images are in black ink against a white
background. The images appear very simple, with very little detail, but they convey
a lot of information. The Boy Cúchulainn armed, depicts the 17-year old warrior,
with his arm raised over his head and with a shield held in his other hand, as he is
about to go into combat against his best friend, Ferdia. Ferdia was tricked into
fighting his friend Cúchulainn by Queen Maeve. Before the fight at the ford against
Ferdia, Cúchulainn!s body became distorted and he appeared to grow in size.
Cúchulainn and Ferdia fought for four days at the ford of the river. Each evening
after the battle, they would send healing herbs and food to each other. On the
fourth day, Cúchulainn was sent the Gáe Bolga, a powerful, magical spear and with
this spear Cúchulainn dealt the mortal wound to his friend, Ferdia.
The illustration in the centre is titled The Morrigan and it depicts a large black bird,
probably a crow. Morrigan was the goddess of battle and strife. She was a magical
creature and a shape-changer, who was said to fly over warriors before they went
into battle. Throughout this epic tale, Cúchulainnn was both helped and hindered
by supernatural figures. Before one fight Morrigan (which means, "great queen! or
"phantom queen!) visited him in the form of a beautiful young woman and offered
him her love, which he turned down. She then revealed her true form and
threatened to interfere in his battle. Elsewhere in the story, Morrigan comes to him
in different forms, an eel, a wolf, a cow and an old woman, but each time he fights
her off. In the story of the Táin, Cúchulainn insults Morrigan at their first meeting.
She had taken the form of woman driving a cow from the lands of Ulster, but
before he could attack her, she turned into a blackbird on a nearby branch. She
then foretells of a battle in where he will be killed. Also in the story, Morrigan
appears before the brown bull of Cooley as a crow and warns the bull to flee.
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Medb is the warrior Queen Maeve of Connacht and is depicted standing in profile
with a small dagger in her hand. She was the cause of the war against the men of
Ulster as she tried to keep their brown bull of Cooley by treacherous means. In this
depiction, it is clear that she is queen, as we can see that she is wearing some
type of regal head dress. Before Cúchulainn had fought his friend Ferdia at the
ford, Maeve had put a magic spell on the warriors of Ulster, the Red Branch
Knights, so that they were too weak to fight. When Cúchulainn killed Ferdia, the
magic spell was broken and the men of Ulster came to help Cúchulainn. Together
they drove the forces of Queen Maeve from the borders of Ulster. Queen Maeve is
reputedly buried within the megalithic cairn on top of the Knocknarea Mountain. If
you look at the large oil painting at the end of the gallery, you will see a depiction of
Knocknarea Mountain by the artist Barrie Cooke.
Classroom Activity
Ink blots: create your own characters or beasties
What you need: To make your own ink- blot creature or beastie, you will need
some drawing paper, ink, a drinking straw and oil & pastel crayons.
Directions:
1. Fold paper in half
2. Use the inks! eyedopper to drop random blops of ink on one of the
inside halves of the paper. If you don!t have a ink-dropper, don!t
worry as you can get your teacher to drip the ink onto the page for
you, but be careful as it can be very messy.
3. Use a straw to blow the ink out, creating longer strands of ink and
creating interesting shapes.
4. Immediately fold the paper together in order to make a mirror of
the ink blot.
5. After the ink is dry, use oil pastels to add details and define face
and body features.
Top Tip: When you blow the ink dribbles with your straw, you can make elongated
lines that look like trees, so you turn your ink blots into a landscape.
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Portraits
Find the portrait of the writer, John McGahern in the exhibition. John McGahern
was a writer who lived in Co. Leitrim and he was described as, "a poet who worked
in prose.! John lived in Fenagh, Co. Leitrim and in one of his most famous books,
That They May Face The Rising Sun, he described life around the lake in his
beloved county Leitrim. His portrait in the exhibition is an oil on canvas and was
painted by the artist, Nick Miller. Nick Miller lives in Sligo, and often paints from the
back of his van, which he has converted into a painting studio, therefore making it
a mobile painting studio.
Activity for the classroom or during the gallery visit
Drawing exercise: Blind Contour Drawing
Can you draw a portrait of your classmate without looking at your hands whilst you
are drawing, but just looking at their face or profile, don!t worry if it turns out all
shaky, as this is a drawing exercise, which is to help you to look closer at the
subject that you are drawing. This is called a blind contour drawing. "Contour,!
means the outline or outer edge of something.
1. Pick a point, where your eye can begin its slow journey around the contour of
your friends! face. Remember, the eye is like a little snail, barely crawling, as it
begins its journey around the outer edge of your friend!s face.
2. When the eye begins to move, at the same time, so should your hand holding
the pencil. At no time should you look at your hand as it draws. Try drawing the
entire contour of the object without lifting your pencil from the paper. Practice this
drawing method often and you will find your drawings will start to look more and
more like what you are looking at.
3. If you are feeling adventurous, place your drawing under a box as you draw ...
that way there is no possible way for you to see what you are drawing. Try it, and
remember ... don't panic if your drawing looks all wobbly; remember practice,
practice, practice….
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Find the portrait of William and Mary in the exhibtion. This is a pastel on
paper by the artist Seán Keating. Compare the texture of this artwork to the
portrait of John McGahern by Nick Miller. Describe the differences in the
textures between these two artworks. Can you imagine what William and
Mary are thinking about? What is the expression on each of their faces?
What do you think they did for a living?
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Activity for the classroom or during the gallery visit
Draw the view from your window – a memory/drawing excercise
The small oil painting titled, Mountain Window, is a view from a window that the
artist, Jack B. Yeats remembered from his aunties house in Rosses Point. The
mountain, Benbulben is framed in the window. Can you draw a view from a
window in your home and can you draw this view from memory. How would you
like to frame your landscape?
Will I use a window to frame my landscape?
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Activity for the classroom or during the gallery visit
Shoe-designers
Dorothy Cross covered a pair of high heeled shoes with cow skin in her installation,
Stiletto II. These shoes cannot be worn as there is nowhere to put your feet!
Use the templates of shoes below to create colourful designs…..you could glue
glitter, feathers, sand, magazine pictures onto your shoe designs - to create a
colourful collage or give your shoes! wings or stripes and polka dots, but most of
all, just have lots of fun. Or if you prefer you can design your own shoe from
scratch.
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An activity to do during your gallery visit
QUIZ TIME
Question: With the help of the 10 clues below can you discover the name of
a famous Irish mythological hero (hint: there is a depiction of him in this
exhibition)?
1. What is the 1st letter of the surname of the artist who painted Knocknarea I.
2. Find Jack B. Yeats Mountain Window, what is the name of the mountain in this
oil painting and what is the 5th letter in the spelling of this mountain?
3. In Jack B. Yeats illustration, An Island Man, what is the 1st letter of Irish spelling
for the item of clothing that the man is wearing around his waist?
4. Find the beautiful oil painting The Lake of the Tears of the Sorrowing Women,
what is the 1st letter of the artists! surname, who painted this work?
5. What is the 5th letter of the title of the installation based on a game, by the
artist, Dorothy Cross (this installation is situated in the smaller gallery, called the
West Gallery)?
6. There is only one work by the artist, Kathy Prendergast in this exhibition. What
precious metal does she use in this painting? What is the 3rd letter of the spelling
of this precious metal.
7. What medium does the artist, Seán Keating use for the portrait, titled, William
and Mary and what is the 2nd letter of this word?
8. What is the title of the shoe sculpture by Dorothy Cross and what is the 3rd
letter of this word?
9. Find the largest painting in the Niland Gallery and what is the 2nd letter of its
title?
10. What is the first letter of the art collection, that is permanently housed in this
building?
Answer:
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Art Terms:
Calligraphy
This is handwriting as an art form. It involves elegant penmanship, where the
decoration and design is of the utmost importance.
Canvas
A heavy woven fabric usually of cotton or linen, used as a support for a painting.
Collage
A piece of art created by combining photos, clippings or small objects onto a
surface. It comes from the French word ‘to glue’.
Composition
The arrangement of elements, shapes and colours in a work of art.
Edition
The total number of copies printed from the same plates or blocks and published
about the same time.
Etching
The act or process of making marks or pictures on a metal plate or glass, by
using the burning action of an acid, instead of by a burin. A burin is a tool for
cutting steel. See the etching, titled Ocean Sounds, by Donald Teskey.
Installation
Art that is created, constructed, or installed on the site where it is exhibited and
often includes the materials or the physical features on the site. There are two
installations by Dorothy Cross in the galleries, Croquet and Stiletto II.
Lithograph
This is a print made by using a press to transfer an image that was created initially
on stone or metal plate to paper.
Lithography
A method for making prints using a flat stone or a metal plate. It can also mean a
commercial print for posters or book illustrations.
Medium
The materials used in creating a piece of artwork, such as, oil paints, watercolours,
inks, clay or pastels.
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The Niland Collection
This is the people of Sligo’s art collection and it was named after Nora Niland,
the County Librarian who began the collection in the 1950s. The Niland
Collection is housed in The Model Art Gallery and there are over 300 art works in
this collection.
Portrait
A painting, drawing, or photograph of a person that usually only includes the
person's head and shoulders: a detailed description of something or someone.
When an artist draws himself or herself, this is called a self-portrait.
Site-specific
Site-specific art is artwork created to exist in a certain place. Typically, the artist
takes the location into account while planning and creating the artwork. See the
installation by Dorothy Cross, titled, Croquet, which is located in the West Gallery.
Three - dimensional
An object that has height, width and depth, like any object in the real world.
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List of works featured in the exhibition, !Painting in the West of Ireland."
Location: The Niland Gallery
Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957)
Leaving The Far Point, 1946
Oil on canvas, 34.5 x 45 cm
The Niland Collection
Presented to Sligo Corporation by the artist in 1954
Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957)
Mountain Window, 1946
Oil on board, 22 x 34.5 cm
The Niland Collection
Bequest of Ms R. Mooney, 1969
Percy French (1854-1920)
Estuary with Mountains in Distance, undated
Watercolour on paper
Private collection on loan to The Niland Collection
George William Russell (AE) (1867-1935)
Shining Shallows, 1908
Oil on canvas, 40.5 x 61.5 cm
The Niland Collection
Presented by James A. Healy, 1966 (John & Catherine Healy Memorial Collection)
Sean McSweeney (b.1935)
The Road, 1965
Oil on canvas, 100 x 120 cm
The Niland Collection
Purchased 1969
Nano Reid (1900-1981)
Tinkers at The Gate, undated
Oil on board, 48 x 90.5 cm
The Niland Collection
Purchased by Sligo County Library and Museum from The Dawson Gallery, Dublin,
1974 with the assistance of The Arts Council / An Comhairle Ealaíon
Donald Teskey (b. 1956)
Ocean Sound, 2007
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Etching, ed. of 15, 65.5 x 91.5 framed
The Niland Collection
Donated by Michael Corrigan, 2008
Kathy Prendergast (b. 1958)
Untitled, 1985
Watercolour, pencil and gold leaf on paper, 88.3 x 71 cm
The Niland Collection
Donated by Vincent Ferguson, 2006
Dorothy Cross (b.1956)
Stiletto II, 1994
Leather shoes and cow's teats, 260 x 80 x 160 cm
The Graeve Collection
Acquired by Jobst Graeve from The Kerlin Gallery, Dublin 1996
Barrie Cooke (b.1931)
Knocknarea I, 2001
Oil on canvas, 184.5 x 215 cm
The Niland Collection
Purchased from the artist, 2001
Maurice MacGonigal PRHA (1900-1979)
The Gathering, undated
Oil on canvas, 77 x 59.5 cm
The Niland Collection
Purchased 1969
Seán Keating PRHA (1889-1977)
William and Mary, undated
Pastel on paper, 55.5 x 63 cm
The Niland Collection
Presented by The Haverty Trust
Barbara Warren RHA (b. 1925)
Girl with A Goose, undated
Oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm
The Niland Collection
Presented by The Friends of the National Collections of Ireland
Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957)
An Island Man, 1906
Pen, ink and watercolour on paper, 30.5 x 23 cm
The Niland Collection
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Presented by James A. Healy, 196 5 (John & Catherine Healy Memorial Collection)
Nick Miller (b. 1962)
John McGahern, 1998
Oil on canvas, 95.5 x 86.5 cm
The Niland Collection
Purchased 2000
Louis le Brocquy HRHA (1916 - 2012)
The Boy Cúchulainn armed, 1969
Lithograph on swiftbrook paper, 38 x 54 cm, Edition of 70 proofs
The Niland Collection
Purchased by Sligo County Library and Museum from The Dawson Gallery Dublin,
1969 with assistance from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaion
Louis le Brocquy HRHA (1916 - 2012)
The Morrigan, 1969
Lithograph on swiftbrook paper, 38 x 54 cm, Edition of 70 proofs
The Niland Collection
Purchased by Sligo County Library and Museum from The Dawson Gallery Dublin,
1969 with assistance from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaion
Louis le Brocquy HRHA (1916 - 2012)
Medb, 1969
Lithograph on swiftbrook paper, 38 x 54 cm, Edition of 70 proofs
The Niland Collection
Purchased by Sligo County Library and Museum from The Dawson Gallery Dublin,
1969 with assistance from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaion
Paul Henry RHA (1876-1958)
The Lake of the Tears of The Sorrowing Women, 1916 - 1917
Oil on canvas, 51 x 61 cm
The Niland Collection
Presented by James A. Healy, 1975 (Josephine C. Healy Memorial Collection
Location: The West Gallery
Dorothy Cross (b.1954)
Croquet, 1994
Wood, metal, plastic, cow!s udders, dimensions variable
The Graeve Collection, on loan since 2001
This Education Resource Pack for Primary Schools was created and devised
by Researcher, Lara Byrne, ©2013.
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