Brian Fallon examines the career of Seán Keating whose series documenting the installation of electricity in Ireland is on view at the RHA until mid December.
To the average Irish art-lover of today, the dominant figures in Irish painting of the early Free State era almost certainly will appear, in retrospect, to be Jack Yeats and Paul Henry. At one stage, indeed, they were virtual rivals for the throne, though today Yeats ranks as a European figure while Henry is strictly a ‘national’ reputation. Yet both were relatively private men in spite of their recognized standing, and though Yeats was more ‘politically aware’ than used to be thought, he consistently declined a more public role. And probably the majority of Henry’s best pictures were painted in the first two decades of the century; after that, he seemed more and more to be harping on a single string.
The realm of faith illustrated in the Book of Kells can be elusive to modern audiences; however, a new study by Bernard Meehan provides valuable insights into this peerless manuscript