James MacCarthy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James MacCarthy
Séamus Mac Cárṫaiġ |
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| Born |
James Kieran Patrick MacCarthy
5 March 1945 Dunmanway, Ireland
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| Died | 15 July 2019 (aged 74) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater | National College of Art and Design |
| Known for | Sculpture, Painting, Drawing, Ceramics |
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Notable work
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Danno O'Mahony, (Danno), Ballydehob, Cork. Thomas Kent, Memorial Bust, Cork (Kent) Railway station, Cork. Ballinasloe Horse Fair – Horse and Handler, Ballinasloe, Galway. Loughrea Uileann Piper, Loughrea, Galway. |
James MacCarthy (in Irish: Séamus MacCárṫaiġ; born March 5, 1945 – died July 15, 2019) was a famous Irish artist. He was known for making sculptures and paintings.
James MacCarthy was especially good at creating sculptures of people and animals. He often used materials like bronze (a type of metal), copper, and limestone. His artworks ranged from small pieces that could sit on a table to very large public statues. You can find his sculptures, monuments, and plaques in many places around Cork and other parts of Ireland. One of his well-known works is a life-size bronze statue of Jack Lynch, who was a leader of the Fianna Fáil political party and a former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland. This statue is in Blackpool, Cork.
MacCarthy's art was shown in many important galleries in Ireland and the UK. His sculptures are also part of big collections, like those at RTÉ (Ireland's national broadcaster), The Arts Council, AIB bank, and The Office of Public Works. Many private collectors in Ireland and other countries also own his pieces.
Contents
Early Life and Art School
James MacCarthy was born in Dunmanway, a town in West Cork, Ireland. He was the second son of Eugene Charles (Hugh) MacCarthy and Anna Connolly. From a young age, James loved drawing, painting, and making models. He really wanted to go to art college. However, his father wanted him to study baking first. So, James went to the Borough Polytechnic Institute in London to learn baking.
After that, from 1968 to 1970, James attended the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin. At NCAD, he learned the main ideas of sculpture from his teacher, Domhnall Ó Murchadha.
His Artistic Career
When James MacCarthy first started his career, he mostly worked with plaster. He made pieces of different sizes, from busts (sculptures of a person's head and shoulders) to half-size figures. He also became interested in ceramics (making things from clay) and pottery. This led him to work at the Kilkenny Design Workshops, where he explored traditional Irish art styles.
After a year in Kilkenny, MacCarthy opened his own studio in Cork. He focused mainly on ceramics there. But he soon returned to making sculptures of people and animals. He felt a strong desire to create expressive three-dimensional forms. James also began to learn bronze casting. This is a very skilled and difficult process that involves making molds and carefully cleaning the cast metal. For over forty years, MacCarthy worked from his studio in Dunmanway. He created sculptures for art shows and for people who asked him to make special pieces.
His Sculptures
What His Art Was About
One of James MacCarthy's main interests was exploring the human body, especially the female figure. He showed this in many ways throughout his career, from quiet moments of people bathing to energetic scenes of models on a catwalk. He also loved to create art about horses and marine life. Animals from the Irish countryside and scenes from Irish life, like a busy fair day, were also important topics in his work.
His Artistic Style
MacCarthy admired famous sculptors like Benvenuto Cellini, Auguste Rodin, Frederic Remington, and George Stubbs. You can see their influence in his early bronze sculptures. These works had a strong and sensitive style, often shaped by using clay. Later in his career, MacCarthy started using wax for his models. This allowed him to work faster and more freely. His style became more "mannerist," meaning the shapes were often exaggerated to create an elegant, sometimes unusual, look. While he mostly worked with clay and wax, MacCarthy also used limestone, copper, and wood to explore his ideas. He often used copper and wood for more playful sculptures.
Special Art Projects
Besides making art for galleries, James MacCarthy also took on special projects for public spaces and private clients. Some of his notable works include:
- Loughrea Uileann Piper: A life-size bronze statue of a man playing the uilleann pipes, located in Loughrea, Galway.
- Ballinasloe Horse Fair – Horse and Handler: A life-size bronze sculpture of a horse and a man, found in Ballinasloe, Galway.
- Jack Lynch, B/L, T.D., An Taoiseach: A life-size bronze statue of former Taoiseach Jack Lynch in Blackpool, Cork.
- Danno O'Mahony – World Champion Wrestler: A life-size bronze statue of the famous wrestler Danno O'Mahony in Ballydehob, Cork.
- Thomas Kent: A life-size bronze bust (head and shoulders) of Thomas Kent at Kent railway station in Cork.
- Heron in the Reeds: A sculpture made of limestone and bronze, located at Inchy Bridge, Timoleague, Cork.
- Tony Reddin: A bronze portrait in low-relief (where the image is slightly raised from the background) at Mullagh GAA Club, Galway.
- Buttevent to Doneraile – First Recorded Steeplechase: A bronze plaque remembering the first recorded steeplechase horse race, in Buttevent, Cork.
His Paintings
Even though James MacCarthy is mostly known for his sculptures, he also painted a lot. In fact, his earliest artworks were paintings. He often painted the mountains and coastline of West Cork, where he lived. The female figure was also a main subject in his paintings, sometimes shown in a landscape or inside a room. He usually painted with oil or acrylic paints.
Images for kids
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Ballinasloe Horse Fair – Horse and Handler, (Unique Bronze) Ballinasloe, Galway.
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Selling the Calf (Bronze)
