The origins of the Lane Collection go back to Sir Hugh Lane (1975- 1915), a successful Co. Cork-born art dealer who personally collected a large number of important European art works, including the eight outstanding paintings by the French Impressionists.
He also recognized the talents of contemporary Irish artists such as Nathaniel Hone and John Butler Yates and believed that they should be shown alongside their European counterparts and so he began a campaign to establish a gallery of modern art in Dublin.
A temporary gallery was opened in Harcourt Street in 1908 to house the Lane Collection but the inability of Dublin Corporation to settle quickly the question of a permanent home led Lane in 1913 to write a will bequeathing the pictures to London. A year later, following his appointment as director of the national Gallery of Ireland, he changed his mind and wrote an unwitnessed codicil to the will in which he once more left the paintings to Dublin. Tragically, Sir Hugh was lost with the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915 and a long dispute over his will arose between the Irish and British governments. A series of agreements resolved the issue by exhibiting most of the collection in Dublin with the exception of the eight French Impressionists' works which must alternate between Dublin and London.
The gallery's collection also comprises an extensive range of irish and international paintings, drawings, sculpture and stained glass and it continues to grow through an active acquisition programme.
© www.patliddy.com
The above information was valid to the best knowledge available to the compiler but responsibility cannot be accepted for any unintentional inaccuracies or out of date data.
.jpg)
