Daniel Breen selects a sculpture by Seamus Murphy in the collection of Cork Public Museum
Seamus Murphy (1907–1975) stands among Cork’s most beloved artists. His craftsmanship is woven into the fabric of the city – visible in the monuments that adorn its parks and in the beautifully carved headstones and crosses that lend quiet dignity to its cemeteries. Born in Mallow, he grew up in Cork City, where his artistic ability was quickly recognised. He earned a free studentship to the Crawford School of Art’s night classes and his dedication there led to an apprenticeship in 1922 with the Blackpool sculptor John O’Connell. His talent continued to develop and in 1931 he won the Gibson Bequest Scholarship, enabling him to spend a formative year studying at the Académie Colarossi in Paris. On returning to Cork, Murphy established his workshop – affectionately known as ‘the scullery’– on Watercourse Road in Blackpool.
Daniel Maclise’s portraits of women, with their Romantic mood and understated symbolism, are among the best of his work, writes Julian Campbell
Philip McEvansoneya considers how the Trench Collection of Tibetan art in the National Museum of Ireland was acquired by the collector, and the museum, and asks if it’s time this ethnographic display was made more accessible to the public
Tom Duffy looks at the work of Rose Barton, who transformed the ordinary by incorporating ‘the picturesque’ into her Dublin and London streetscapes
