National Gallery of Ireland facts for kids
| Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann | |
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| Established | 1864 |
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| Location | Merrion Square West, Dublin, Ireland |
| Type | Art museum |
| Key holdings | Kitchen Maid with the Supper at Emmaus Portrait of Doña Antonia Zárate The Taking of Christ Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid Connemara Girl |
| Public transit access | Clare Street bus stop Dublin Pearse Dawson Street (Green Line) |
The National Gallery of Ireland (Irish: Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is a famous art museum in Dublin. It holds a huge collection of Irish and European art. You can find it right in the middle of Dublin city. It has entrances on Merrion Square and Clare Street. The gallery first opened its doors in 1864. It is known for its amazing collection of Irish paintings. It also has beautiful works from the Italian Baroque and Dutch masters. The current director is Caroline Campbell.
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History of the Gallery
The idea for the gallery started in 1853. This was after a big event called the Great Industrial Exhibition. It was held on the lawns of Leinster House in Dublin. A rich railway owner named William Dargan paid for a large art display. People loved seeing the art. This showed that there was a public interest in art.
So, people decided to create a permanent art collection. It would be a thank you to Dargan. A lawyer named John Edward Pigot was key to this idea. He became one of the first leaders of the gallery. The building was designed by Francis Fowke. It looked similar to the Natural History building nearby. The gallery opened its doors in 1864.
When it first opened, the gallery had only 112 paintings. In 1866, they started getting money each year to buy new art. By 1891, they already needed more space.
Growing the Collection
In 1897, the Countess of Milltown decided to give her family's art to the gallery. This huge gift included 223 paintings and many other items. Because of this, a new part of the building was built. It was called the Milltown Wing and opened in 1903.
Around this time, Henry Vaughan also gave a special gift. He left 31 watercolours by J. M. W. Turner. He asked that they only be shown in January. This was to protect them from sunlight. Even though modern lights are safer now, the gallery still shows them only in January. It has become a special yearly event.
Another important gift came from Hugh Lane. He was the gallery's director in 1914. Sadly, he died when the ship Lusitania sank in 1915. He left a large collection of pictures. He also left money to the gallery. This "Lane Fund" still helps buy new artworks today. Lane also wanted to start a modern art gallery. This dream came true after his death with the Hugh Lane Gallery.
The famous writer George Bernard Shaw also gave a lot of money. He left the gallery a third of the money from his books. He did this because he loved spending time there when he was young.
The gallery grew again in 1962. A new wing, called the Beit Wing, opened in 1968. In 1978, the government gave the gallery paintings from Chester Beatty. In 1987, the Sweeney gift brought 14 artworks. These included paintings by Picasso and Jack B. Yeats. That same year, Alfred Beit gave 17 masterpieces. These included works by Velázquez and Vermeer.
In the 1990s, a lost painting by Caravaggio was found in Dublin. It was called The Taking of Christ. It was discovered by Sergio Benedetti, a conservator at the gallery. The painting is now shown at the gallery. Its discovery caused great excitement in Ireland.
In 1997, Anne Yeats gave her uncle Jack Yeats's sketchbooks. The gallery now has a special Yeats Museum.
Millennium Wing
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A new part of the gallery, called the Millennium Wing, opened in 2002. This wing has its own entrance facing the street. It was designed by architects Benson & Forsyth. It has a grand stone front and a large open area inside.
Keeping the Gallery Modern
In 2011, work began to fix and update the older parts of the gallery. This included the Dargan (1864) and Milltown (1903) wings. The roofs were replaced first. Then, the buildings were updated inside. This work was finished in June 2017. It helped bring back the original beauty of the buildings.
Visiting the Gallery
The National Gallery of Ireland is in the heart of Dublin. It has two entrances: one on Merrion Square and one on Clare Street. It is free to enter the gallery. Many talks, tours, and events are also free. The gallery even has a free smartphone app.
Getting There
Many Dublin Bus routes pass by the gallery. The Pearse Street DART station is only a 5-minute walk away. The Dawson stop on the Luas green line is also close. There are also dublinbikes stations right outside the gallery.
Accessibility
All parts of the gallery are easy to access for wheelchairs and buggies. There are special parking spots for disabled visitors. Tours for people with sight or hearing problems are often held. Guide dogs are welcome inside. The lecture theatre and shop also have systems for people with hearing difficulties.
Art Highlights
The gallery has about 14,000 artworks. This includes about 2,500 oil paintings, 5,000 drawings, and many prints and sculptures.
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Domenico Ghirlandaio, Portrait of Clarice Orsini, before 1494
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Andrea Mantegna, Judith, 1490s
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Titian, Ecce Homo, 1558–60
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Hendrick Avercamp, Scene on the Ice, c 1620
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Rembrandt, Interior with Figures, 1628
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Jan Brueghel the Younger and Peter Paul Rubens, Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, 1628
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Paulus Moreelse, Girl wearing a Gold Chain, 1632
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Rembrandt, Portrait of a Woman with Gloves, c 1632-1642
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Frans Hals, Fisher Boy, c 1630-32
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Dirck Hals, A Woman Sewing by Candlelight, 1633
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Nicolas Poussin, The Holy Family, c 1649
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Jacob van Ruisdael, Burg Bentheim, 1653
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Diego Velázquez, La mulata (La cena de Emaús), before 1660
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William Hogarth, A Woman Swearing a Child to a Grave Citizen, c.1729
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Frederic William Burton, The Meeting on the Turret Stairs, 1864
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Walter Osborne, In a Dublin Park, Light and Shade, 1895
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Famous Artworks
The gallery has many famous paintings from different countries.
Spanish Art
- Diego Velázquez (1599–1660) Kitchen Maid with the Supper of Emmaus, c.1617–18
- Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746–1828) Dona Antonia Zarate c.1805–06
- Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881–1973) Still-Life with Mandolin 1924
French Art
- Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) Acis and Galatea 1627–28
- Claude Monet (1840–1926) Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat 1874
Italian Art
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- Titian (c.1485/90–1576) Ecce Homo c.1558/60
- Caravaggio (1571–1610) The Taking of Christ 1602
- Guercino (1591–1666) Jacob blessing the Sons of Jacob c.1620
Dutch Art
- Rembrandt (1606–69) Landscape with the Rest on the Flight into Egypt 1647
- Johannes Vermeer (1632–75) Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid c.1670
British and American Art
- William Hogarth (1697–1764) The Western Family c.1738
- Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88) The Cottage Girl 1785
- John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) The Bead Stringers of Venice 1880–82
Irish Art
- Augustus Nicholas Burke (1838–1891) Connemara Girl (1865).
- Daniel Maclise (1806–1870) The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife, 1854
- Walter Osborne (1859–1903) Dublin Streets: a Vendor of Books, 1889
- Paul Henry (1876–1958) Launching the Currach 1910–11
The Yeats Collection
The gallery has a special collection of works by the Yeats family.
- Jack B. Yeats (1871–1957) The Liffey Swim 1923
- John Butler Yeats (1839–1922) John O'Leary 1904
Zurich Portrait Prize
The Zurich Portrait Prize is an art competition. Artists create portraits, and the best ones are shown at the gallery. Artists from Ireland or Irish citizens living abroad can enter. The winner gets €15,000 and a €5,000 commission. This money is used to create a new portrait for the gallery.
Some past winners include:
- 2018 Mandy O'Neill
- 2019 Enda Bowe
Before 2018, it was called the Hennessy Portrait Prize. Past winners of that prize include:
- 2017 Jack Hickey
- 2016 Gerry Davis
Library and Archives
The gallery also has a large library and archive. These collections are very important for studying art history. They have over 100,000 books. They also have many old documents. These collections help people learn about art from the Middle Ages to today. They are especially rich in Irish and Italian art history. The library is open to the public.
See also
In Spanish: Galería Nacional de Irlanda para niños
- List of national galleries
