Irish-born artist George William Joy was an accomplished and cosmopolitan figure, who created one of the Victorian era’s most popular paintings, writes Julian Campbell
Two of the most striking paintings in the exhibition ‘Artist and Empire, Facing Britain’s Imperial Past’, held in Tate Britain winter 2015 – 2016, were Three Princesses of Mysore, 1806 by Thomas Hickey (private collection) and General Gordon’s Last Stand (Leeds Museums and Galleries) by George William Joy. The latter painting was more sober in tone than many of the dramatic, colourful pictures around it, but painted in 1893, only eight years after the events it depicted, it showed an important moment in British Imperial history, and not unlike Gericault’s Raft of the Medusa, 1819, it created a sensation. Both Hickey and Joy were Irish born-artists. Gordon had become an admired, if individualistic
Brian McAvera sees Colin Davidson wrestle with sexual politics in his new series of Nudes on view this autumn at Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin.
Can the pragmatic 21st-century East range at Trinity College Dublin match the 18th-century splendour of the West Front? James Howley appraises recent developments on the campus
Behind the bustle and colour of the 2016 graduate shows Gerry Walker finds a wealth of well-researched, accomplished projects.