Despite the obscurity of their lives, and the uneven nature of their work, John Butts and Nathaniel Grogan merit the attention the Crawford Art Gallery’s exhibition now gives them, writes Tom Dunne
During the second half of the 18th century painters gained a new status with the establishment of the Royal Academy and the development of an art market informed by regular exhibitions. In Ireland the career of Thomas Roberts (1758-1777) typified this change, and his success in attracting a succession of aristocratic patrons seems to have been matched by his ease in their company.
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