Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Portrait of a bearded man
Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685) Adoration of the Shepherds 1667
David Teniers the Younger, A Village Kermesse Near Antwerp, 56.9×77.5cm
Thank you to all who signed the IAR Appeal to Save the Beit Paintings! Three of the paintings due for auction last July have been bought privately by donors and will be transferred to the National Gallery in Dublin for public display.
After wide support for the Appeal to Save the Beit Paintings this summer, the Alfred Beit Foundation postponed the London sale to explore alternative solutions. The foundation sought private donors to purchase the paintings and donate them to the State, ensuring that the Old Masters would remain in Ireland in accordance with the wishes of Sir Alfred and Lady Clementine Beit (See: IAR Summer 2015, IAR Autumn 2015).
The paintings Head of a Bearded Man by Rubens, Adoration of the Shepherds by Adriaen Van Ostade and A Village Kermesse Near Antwerp by David Teniers the Younger have been purchased by Irish donors and will be donated to the National Gallery of Ireland.
It is reported that the paintings have been purchased by the businessmen Denis O’Brien, Head of a Bearded Man, John Gallagher, Adoration of the Shepherds, and Lochlann Quinn, A Village Kermesse Near Antwerp.
Castletown House, Ireland’s largest and finest Palladian mansion, has lain closed to the public since last September – all because of a dispute about access and parking.
At the 42nd Annual General Assembly of Aosdána, the organisation whose members are honoured for their contribution to the arts in Ireland, Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh was the sole visual artist to join the ranks.
Representing Ireland at the 60th Venice Biennale, Eimear Walshe (they/them) presents Romantic Ireland, curated by Sara Greavu with Project Arts Centre, Dublin.
