Créatúir na Cartlainne | Tails from the Archive

Sa taispeántas Créatúir na Cartlainne, déantar ceiliúradh ar an gcaidreamh atá againn le hainmhithe mar ábhar áthais, grinn, iontais, spreagtha agus comhluadair. Tá créatúir bhídeacha, beithígh allta agus na peataí is ansa linn le fáil i gcartlanna an Ionaid um Staidéar ar Ealaín na hÉireann; faoi cheilt i leabhair sceitseála agus i litreacha maisithe, nó i lár an aonaigh i bpictiúir uiscedhatha agus in maquettes.

Tá léargas sa bhreis le fáil sa Ghaeilge ar an nasc atá againn le hainmhithe. Cuirtear críonnacht agus seanchas in iúl le focail ghreannmhara agus allabhracha amhail bearrthóir agus cluasachán, agus le seanfhocail fhileata na Gaeilge. Nochtann focail choitianta agus focail atá ligthe i ndearmad caidreamh spraíúil, báúil agus géarchúiseach le neacha beo – caidreamh a léirítear go soiléir arís agus arís eile i gcartlanna ealaíontóirí. Scaoiltear saor paca ainmhithe faoi cheilt le Créatúir na Cartlainne – ó chartlanna ealaíne Éireannaí an Ghailearaí agus ón bhfoclóir Gaeilge araon – agus cuirtear i gcuimhne dúinn ár dteanga cheolmhar, bhríomhar agus thuairisciúil a chaomhnú. Seans go bhfuil deis ann teacht ar bhealaí nua le maireachtáil taobh le taobh lenár gcomhchréatúir.

Tails from the Archive celebrates our relationship with animals – as a source of joy, humour, awe, inspiration and companionship. Beloved pets, tiny creatures and wild beasts emerge from the archives of the Centre for the Study of Irish Art; hidden between the pages of sketchbooks and illustrated letters, or captured forever in watercolours and maquettes.

The Irish language offers further insight into our connection with the animal world. Layers of wisdom and folk memory are expressed in humorous and evocative words such as bearrthóir (tail-chewing animal) and cluasachán (long-eared animal), and in poetic seanfhocail or Irish proverbs. Familiar and forgotten Irish words reveal a playful, empathetic and keenly observant relationship with living creatures – one that reflects the curiosity and delight in depicting the animal world that we repeatedly encounter in artist archives. 

Tails from the Archive unleashes a menagerie of hidden animals – from both the Irish art archives and from the depths of the Irish dictionary – and reminds us to cherish the lively and descriptive lyricism of our native language. There we may rediscover past ways of understanding and co-existing with our fellow creatures.

Tá na seanfhocail, a d’eascair as an mbéaloideas, lán le críonnacht, greann agus íomhánna d’ainmhithe.

Seanfhocail are traditional Irish proverbs, literally translating as ‘old words’. With their origins in the Irish oral tradition, seanfhocail are rich in wisdom, humour and animal imagery.

While teaching at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art, William Orpen (1878–1931) frequently wrote home to his family in England, illustrating his letters with humorous sketches of his life in the city. Some of his more imaginative and unusual drawings were affectionately addressed to his daughters Mary (Bunny) and Christine (Kit). Orpen opens this letter with ‘a picture of a snail for Bunny and this one of a slug for Kit’, before musing about tax concerns, a portrait commission, and playing tennis.

Elizabeth C. Yeats (1868–1940) published four popular painting manuals between 1896 and 1900. Brushwork Studies of Flowers, Fruits and Animals (1898) was the second in the series. Yeats was trained in the teachings of German pedagogue Friedrich Froebel (inventor of the kindergarten) and her broad brush painting is informed by her experience teaching young children. Her beautiful renderings of birds, butterflies, bees and flowers enliven her simple, step-by-step instructions for painting the natural world. Her painting manuals were widely used by teachers and generated good income for Yeats and her family.

Northern Irish artist Deborah Brown (1927-2023) initially established her reputation in abstract painting. Later in her career, she began investigating wire and paper maché sculpture. Her best-known works were animals – particularly the sheep, cattle and goats near her studio in Cushendun, county Antrim. Although she initially considered her delicately-crafted paper maché sculptures to be complete rather than preparatory works, she subsequently began translating many of these inherently ephemeral pieces into bronze.

Thomas Bodkin (1887-1961), Director of the Gallery from 1927 until 1935, wrote this illustrated letter to his niece, Norah Robinson. In his letter, Bodkin describes several remarkable encounters with the animal world. He sketched a pair of purple and yellow coloured elephants, writing: “These two elephants went strolling gaily down the street past my office. There was no one in charge of them. They looked into all the shop windows as they went by.” He also depicts an owl, a cat, a donkey, a rooster and a dog gathered together at his garden wall, along with the message: “Did you ever see such a think [sic] in all your born life?” The letter is affectionately signed ‘your loving old Uncle Tom’.

Anne Yeats (1919-2001) and her mother Georgie were regular visitors to Dublin Zoo, where they would feed the animals while Yeats filled her sketchbooks with lively annotated drawings. Her zoo animals often exhibit curiously human behaviours and emotions. The artist’s humorous observation and sense of the absurd is captured in animated scenes of a bear washing itself, or being chased by a honking goose. Yeats developed her zoo sketches into a colourful mural commission for the Unicorn restaurant in Dublin in 1946, and she likely also drew on them to illustrate the children’s book The Animals’ Breakfast (1950), by Bryan Guinness.

In 1964, sculptor Oisín Kelly (1915-1981) was offered a part-time position at the Kilkenny Design Workshops. Kelly relished the opportunity to explore various craft processes at the recently established workshops – including metalwork, textiles and pottery. His series of ceramic birds proved particularly popular at the Kilkenny Design Shop on Nassau Street. These affordable stoneware pieces were cast from Kelly’s original model and hand-painted by Marie Hennessy. The eider sea duck, the wood duck and the mallard duck each have their own own endearing qualities and distinct personalities.

Conor Fallon (1939–2007) was one of Ireland’s best known sculptors of animals. The artist worked in a cubist idiom; beginning with closely observed preliminary sketches, he systematically distilled and abstracted his animal subjects to arrive at their most elementary form. Drawing on these preparatory sketches, he would then construct three-dimensional maquettes from stapled card, which formed the basis for his finished sculptures in welded steel or cast bronze. His process of reducing form and movement to their most essential has the surprising effect of capturing the distinct behaviours and characteristics of each creature.

In 2006, artist Stephen McKenna (1939-2017) and poet María Vela published a limited edition illustrated book entitled Du Côté de Bran. The book is a mythologizing ode to McKenna’s gentle wolfhound Bran, but also to painting and friendship. Vela’s lyrical prose conjures the dog and the artist’s shared universe – chasing butterflies and inspiration along the towpaths of the river Barrow. In a series of luminous watercolours created as illustrations, McKenna captures Bran’s friendly-faced majesty, as well as the various birds, butterflies, cattle and wild animals that animate their intersecting worlds.

This fine watercolour of a pair of white horses in a stable is attributed to William Burton (1776-1867), whose nephew was the accomplished watercolour painter and director of the National Gallery in London, Frederic William Burton (1816-1900). Born in Limerick, William Burton was the son of Edward William Burton of Clifden, High Sheriff of county Clare. Little is known about the artist, who may have been an amateur painter like his brother Samuel Frederic Burton (1786-1869) the wealthy landowner and father to Frederic. The rich colouring and delicate brushwork of Mon Frère are reminiscent of the Pre-Raphaelite-influenced watercolours produced by his more famous nephew.

Welsh landscape artist Nancy Wynne-Jones (1922–2006) produced a number of informal pet portraits, including a vibrant conté drawing of a cat enthroned in an armchair, and a mixed media painting of Moth the Cat. The latter dates from 1959, two years after Wynne-Jones moved to St Ives in Cornwall. There she trained with the renowned British abstract expressionist painter Peter Lanyon. Moth the Cat pulsates with a wild, inhuman energy. The feline’s glowing yellow eyes are the focal point of the frenetic composition; his triangular ears and moustachioed whiskers offer further cardinal points for navigating the painting. The visceral feeling of space created by the artist has a destabilising effect on the viewer, reminding us that the cat’s world is its own impenetrable domain.

Chun na saothair ar pháipéar a chaomhnú, déanfar babhtáil ar cheithre thaispeántas agus díreofar ar shaothair nuashealbhaithe i mbailiúcháin an Ionaid um Staidéar ar Ealaín na hÉireann. Is le tacaíocht ón bpobal agus ónár ndeontóirí flaithiúla a fuarthas na saothair seo. Buíochas ó chroí leis na daoine seo a leanas:

To preserve our works on paper, this exhibition will be presented in four curated rotations, highlighting recent acquisitions to the Centre for the Study of Irish Art. These acquisitions are made possible through public support and the generous contributions of our donors. We extend our sincere thanks to the following:

John F. Burton, Liadin & Julia Cooke, Bridget Fallon, Muintir Oisín Kelly/The Family of Oisín Kelly, an tOll. Colum Kenny/Prof. Colum Kenny DCU,  Muintir Stephen McKenna/The Family of Stephen McKenna, John H. Philips & Geraldine Sheridan, Anna Russell, Muintir Bea Orpen/The Family of Bea Orpen, Anne Yeats, Michael Yeats.

Tabhair cuairt ar Créatúir na Cartlainne i Seomra 11 i nGailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann inniú!

Visit Tails from the Archives in Room 11 at the National Gallery of Ireland today!

Curator: Marie Lynch, Coimeádaí Ionad um Staidéar ar Ealaín na hÉireann/Centre for the Study of Irish Art Curator