Jennifer Goff selects Sasha Sykes’ contemporary screen inspired by Eileen Gray’s original
‘Reconstructed Rooms – Four centuries of Furnishings’ at the National Museum of Ireland showcases furniture design from the 17th century to the present. Two pieces in the 20th-century gallery are by Sasha Sykes. The Carlow chair, acquired by the museum in 2008, is a modern interpretation of the old classic Sligo or Tuam chair. The second is an elaborate block screen, a commission and story which developed over two years.
Muirne Lydon reveals the original brilliance of Murillo’s Prodigal Son as degraded varnish and old restorations are painstakingly removed from the 17th-century series at the National Gallery of Ireland
Using a selection of germane quotations Rolf Loeber recalls his mentor, the late Maurice Craig; their literary exchange taking the form of a tete-a-tete.
Cosmopolitan yet connected to local issues, Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt played a prominent role in promoting Ireland’s cultural institutions at a pivotal time in their early history, writes Philip McEvansoneya