Exhibiting Art In Georgian IrelandThe Society of Artists’ Exhibitions Recreated

16th June - 29th July 2018

Press viewing: 15th June at 2pm

www.igs.ie / @IrishGeorgian / #CAH1766

This summer the Irish Georgian Society will host a world-class exhibition of eighteenth-century Irish paintings to mark the restoration of the City Assembly House and to commemorate the Society of Artists in Ireland who erected the building over 250 years ago. Celebrating the building’s original incarnation as the first purpose-built public gallery in Britain and Ireland, the Exhibition will re-assemble works by Society of Artists members such as Thomas Roberts, Jonathan Fisher, James Forrester, Robert Carver, Robert Healy and Hugh Douglas Hamilton, including many pieces which were first displayed in the room in the series of exhibitions the Society held there between 1766 and 1780. By honouring the pioneering spirit of these exhibitions, we aim to provide an insight into the fascinating range of artistic production taking place in eighteenth-century Ireland. As the exhibition catalogues reveal, Georgian Dublin was a hive of creativity, with landscape artists working alongside portraitists, history painters, sculptors, printers and draughtsmen in an astonishing range of media, including oil paint, pastel, marble, wood, glass, wax and hair. With loans secured from national institutions and private collectors, this exhibition will reunite over eighty works by exhibiting Society of Artists’ members. An accompanying catalogue will evaluate these stimulating years; assessing Ireland’s first introduction to exhibition culture and the significant contribution it made to an increasingly self-confident national school of Irish art.The public will have free access to the exhibition, with guided tours and exclusive events to mark the completion of the restoration of the City Assembly House. This will be one of 2018’s great cultural events in Ireland, and should not be missed. 

Press For further press information please contact Zoё Coleman (zoe.coleman@igs.ie) or by phone +353 (0)1 679 8675

Exhibition Opening HoursOpen to the public: Monday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Free admission.

Notes to Editors Exhibiting Art In Georgian Ireland has been curated by Dr Ruth

Kenny, formally Assistant Curator of British Art, 1750-1830 at Tate Britain, who has identified over seventy works of art that will showcase the breadth of talent displayed by the Society of Artists’ initial series of exhibitions between 1765 and 1780.

The City Assembly House was restored by the Irish Georgian Society as part of a capital refurbishment project beginning in 2013, and recently completed in January 2018. These works included the reinstatement of the octagonal room (built 1766) as an exhibition space and as a performance space, and the provision of a wheelchair lift, providing universal access to the building. The aim of reopening the building will be to once again place the City Assembly House at the centre of Dublin’s cultural life.

The ‘Society of Artists in Ireland’; was established in 1764, the first organisation of its kind for Irish artists. The group fundraised for the construction of the exhibition room in 1766, as a venue to display their art to the public. This was the first purpose built public art gallery in either Britain or Ireland and possibly the very first of its kind in Europe.

The Knight of Glin Exhibition Room is named for the former President of the Society, Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight of Glin. This will be a fitting tribute to the Knight’s long association with the Irish Georgian Society and Irish education and scholarship.

CatalogueThe exhibition catalogue will serve as a lasting piece of scholarship on the exhibition, edited by William Laffan (art historian and co-author of Thomas Roberts, Landscape and Patronage in Eighteenth-Century Ireland and Russborough: A Great Irish House, its Families and Collections), the exhibition curator Dr Ruth Kenny and Dr David Fleming (University of Limerick).

About the Irish Georgian SocietyThe Irish Georgian Society is a membership organisation whose purpose is to promote awareness and the protection of Ireland's architectural heritage and decorative arts.  These aims are achieved through the activities of the Society’s conservation and education programmes, and its membership activities.

The Irish Georgian Society was founded in 1958 by the Hon. Desmond Guinness and Mariga Guinness for the protection of buildings of architectural merit in Ireland. Many fine houses have been saved through their enthusiasm and commitment, and the dedication of members and supporters. The current

Portrait of an officer of an Irish Volunteer Regiment in a wooded

landscape, holding a spontoon, John Trotter (died 1792). Private collection.

Two of A Set of Six Bird and Fruit pictures, Samuel Dixon (died 1769). Private collection.

President is Sir David Davies. The Society celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2018.

EventsA series of events including lunchtime lectures, adult and family workshops, accessible tours, art classes and musical recitals have been organised in relation to this exhibition. See www.igs.ie/events for details of these.

Exhibiting Art In Georgian IrelandThe Society of Artists’ Exhibitions Recreated16th June - 29th July 2018