Press Release
12/03/2010
“National Gallery Exhibition showcases a decade of acquisitions”
– Dr. Mansergh TD
Dr. Martin Mansergh TD Minister of
State with special responsibility for the Arts, today (Friday 12th
March, 2010) officially launched “Taking Stock 2000 – 2010” Exhibition in the
National Gallery of Ireland.
Taking Stock 2000 – 2010 showcases
acquisitions made over the past decade in an exhibition which reflects
different areas of the National Gallery’s collection. It will include works by
Continental Masters from mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century including
artists such as van Gough, Renoir, Caillebotte,
Bonnard, Pechstein and Feininger. The exhibition will
also feature a number of important additions to the Irish school, from
landscapes by Thomas Roberts and George Barret to
Modernist painters including Louis le Brocquy,
William Scott and John Luke.
Speaking at the launch Dr. Mansergh
said: “The National
Gallery plays a fundamental part in the cultural life of the Irish State. It is part of the body of National Cultural
Institutions, which preserve and continue to grow the national
collections. These are a vital part of
our heritage. In particular, the Gallery
has played an important role in highlighting and developing a collection of
works of Irish painters and sculptors.
Recently, the Global Economic Forum held in Farmleigh
acknowledged the global association of Ireland with creativity and imagination.
The arts have the very real capacity to contribute towards our economic
recovery and therefore have a very real part to play in today's changed environment. This new exhibition continues in
that role of showing Irish and international visitors the depth and breadth of
art in Ireland.”
Dr.
Mansergh also said: “The State
plays a role in encouraging the donation of paintings, through the taxation system. There is a tax relief scheme in operation for
the donation of heritage items to our national cultural collecting
institutions, including the Gallery. The
scheme focuses on items that are considered outstanding items of their type and
that are pre-eminent in their class.
This exhibition contains some items donated under that scheme, such as A
Family by Louis le Brocquy and Portrait of
George Fitzgerald with his sons George and Charles by Johann Zoffany.”
Concluding Dr.
Mansergh added: “Looking forward to the next 10
years, the Gallery in particular will be celebrating in 2014 the 150th
anniversary of its opening to the public in 1864. This no doubt will be another wonderful
opportunity to celebrate the many achievements of the National Gallery of
Ireland and I very much look forward to that occasion.”
Ends
Issued by Therese O’Connor 087 2908193