Fionnuala Croke presents a selection from the panoply of objects d’arts on view at the Chester Beatty Library’s ‘A to Z’ exhibition
In the reflections he recorded for an unpublished biography, Chester Beatty related how he went to an auction with his father at the age of ten and secured a fine piece of pink calcite for the princely sum of ten cents (CBL Archives). That was in 1885: by the time of his death in his 93rd year, Chester Beatty had assembled what many regarded as the finest collection in private hands. Who would have imagined that this American-born mining engineer who made his first fortune working for the Guggenheim family’s exploration company, and who went on to become a British citizen (in 1933) while leading his own international mining conglomerate from London, would relocate to Ireland at the age of seventy-five – bringing with him the collection he had spent a lifetime joyfully acquiring? The move certainly took his friends and associates, not to mention the ‘British authorities’ by surprise; and no doubt their shock turned to dismay when he announced his intention to bequeath the collection to the Irish nation.
With the recent passing of Ronald Tallon, Seán Ó Laoire reflects on the end of an era and remembers Michael Scott, founder and charismatic figurehead of Scott Tallon Walker
Catherine Marshall assesses the unwavering artistic journey of Maria Simonds-Gooding in advance of her retrospective in Dublin
The class of 2014 is looking anew to the tangible joys of creativity, in contrast to its documentation, writes Gerry Walker of the trends emerging from this year’s graduate shows.