Saturday, 30 July 2022 | 18.5°C Dublin

E xhibition focussed on art inspired by the Irish War of Independence

Seán Keating’s ‘Men of the South’, 1921 -22. © Estate of Sean Keating, IVARO, Dublin 2022.

One of the most celebrated pieces of War of Independence artwork, Seán Keating’s iconic painting ‘Men of the South’ is the centrepiece of a fascinating exhibition currently taking place at Cork’s Crawford Art Gallery.

B illed as a centenary celebration of iconic War of Independence artwork, ‘As They Must Have Been’ gathers together important pieces of artwork from the period, with a particular focus on Seán Keating’s quest to capture contemporary history.

Completed in 1922 in the aftermath of the War, ‘Men of the South’ depicts six members of the No.2 (North) Cork Brigade, who visited Keating’s Dublin studio during the truce of July 11, 1921 to sit for the portrait.

Keating would later remark that the six men: “Trooped in, dressed and armed very much as they must have been on many an ambush.”

Cork's essential reads in local news and sport, straight to your inbox every week

Enter email address This field is required Sign Up

Exhibited at the Munster Fine Arts Club in 1922, ‘Men of the South’ excited much discussion within the Cork press and was ultimately purchased for the Crawford’s collection in 1924 through the Gibson Bequest Fund.

‘As They Must Have Been’ places the portrait in context and seeks to draw out the stories of the individuals depicted, the wider theatre of war and the circumstances surrounding the making of the masterpiece.

The exhibition will also provide the public with a rare – and quite possibly unique – opportunity to see the painting with its companion ‘An IRA Column’ (1921), which is currently on loan at the Crawford from Áras an Uachtaráin and President Higgins. It is thought the two paintings may not have been together since 1924.

Accompanying these historic paintings are rare oral recordings collected by the Irish Life and Lore historical archive, that provide verbal accounts and fascinating insights from people connected with the paintings.

Exhibition curator, Dr Michael Waldron, said that in addition to marking the centenary of ‘Men of the South’, it offers a broader explanation of Ireland a centre ago.

“How did artists participate in conceiving of a new Ireland and who were some of the voices in the emergent Irish Free State? This centenary exhibition invites visitors to reflect upon the possibility of art to shape or reshape our histories, with an eye to posterity and bearing witness to lives and events ‘as they must have been’”, said Dr Waldron.

Alongside the works by Seán Keating, the exhibition also features works by George Atkinson, Hugh C. Charde, Margaret Clarke, Paul Henry, Catherine Holland, Mainie Jellett, John Lavery, Louis le Brocquy, Séamus Murphy, Breda O’Donoghue-Lucci, William Rothenstein, Thomas Ryan, Oliver Sheppard, Estella Solomons, and Jack B Yeats.

It will also be accompanied by a programme of free public tours and a special Heritage Week event ‘Men of the South at 100: An Oral History’ with Maurice O’Keeffe of Irish Life and Lore and Michael Waldron in the Crawford Art Gallery at 5.30pm on Thursday, August 18.

A Mediahuis Website © Independent.ie