Situated 3 doors away from the Dublin Writers' Museum, the Hugh Lane offers a lighter alternative to some of the bigger National Museums. It's a small museum and you don't have to be knowledgeable about art to enjoy the collection of paintings and sculpture, which includes several Impressionists works and a good representation of Ireland's favourite painters.
Hugh Lane was one of the first major collectors of Impressionist paintings in Ireland and Britain. He campaigned to have a Gallery of Modern Art in Dublin, which was established in 1908 with a founding collection donated by him and his supporters. Hugh Lane died on board the Lusitania in 1915 and it wasn't until 1929 that the Gallery found its permanent home in Parnell Square.
Works from the late 19th and early 20th centuries include an interesting mix of works by artists such as Degas, Monet, Manet, LeSidaner, Vuillard and deVlaminck, as well as a represenation of Irish artists including Walter Osborne, William Orpen, John Lavery, John Yeats, and Roderic O'Conor.
Later works include examples from many important Irish artists such as Jack B Yeats, Mainie Jellett, Mary Swanzy, William Scott and Norah McGuinnes, and more contemporary works from Louis leBrocquy, Sean Scully, Felim Egan and Dorothy Cross.
There is also a stained glass room featuring works by Harry Clarke Eve of St. Agnes, Evie Hone and others.
NEW in 2000:
the studio of Francis Bacon has been donated to the gallery and is currently being reconstructed there, to be launched in November. Meanwhile, there are associated events, including an exhibition of Bacon's paintings spanning the 1930's to the 1990's, on display from June - August; an exhibition of photographs of the studio taken in 1998, on display from 20 September, and an exhibition entitled The Private Diary of Francis Bacon which will include items from his studio, to be on display from 24 November.
Gallery facilities: Gift Shop, Cafe.
