Patrick Swift facts for kids

Patrick Swift (1927–1983) was an Irish painter. He worked in Dublin, Ireland, London, England, and the Algarve region of Portugal.

About Patrick Swift

Patrick Swift was an important Irish artist. In Dublin, he was part of a group of artists and writers. They met at a pub called McDaid's and were involved with a magazine called Envoy. Later, in London, he helped start and edit a magazine called X magazine with the poet David Wright.

When he moved to Portugal, he kept painting. He also wrote and illustrated books about Portugal. He even started Porches Pottery. This helped bring back a traditional craft that was disappearing.

During his life, Swift had only two solo art shows. His first show in Dublin in 1952 was very popular. For Swift, painting was a very personal activity. After he passed away, the Irish Museum of Modern Art held a special show of his work in 1993.

What He Painted

Patrick Swift was a figurative painter. This means he painted things that looked real, like people, places, and objects. He wanted his art to show feelings and ideas, not just pretty designs.

His style changed over the years. But his main goal was always to show what he saw in a true way. He believed that everything in a room changes when you bring a plant into it. He tried to paint this "tension" or connection between things.

Swift never joined any official art groups. He had three main periods in his art: Dublin, London, and Algarve. He painted many different things:

• Portraits: Pictures of people.
• Tree portraits: He really loved painting trees.
• Landscapes: Pictures of the countryside and cities.

He used many different art materials. These included oils, watercolour, ink, charcoal, lithography, and ceramics.

His Life Story

Early Life in Dublin

Patrick Swift went to school at Synge Street CBS in Dublin. He mostly taught himself how to paint. But he did take some night classes at the National College of Art and Design in 1946 and 1948. He also studied in Paris in 1950, where he met the famous artist Giacometti.

In the early 1950s, he had an art studio in Dublin. Another famous painter, Lucian Freud, sometimes shared Swift's studio. Swift's art was first shown in group exhibitions in 1950 and 1951. Critics noticed his work right away. They said his paintings showed things with "uncompromising clarity."

In 1952, he had his first solo show at the Waddington Galleries. Time magazine wrote about his paintings. They described them as "harshly realistic" and full of "sharply etched details." Swift said he wanted to show the "tensions" he found in life.

During this time, he often painted birds. These bird images might have had special meanings or even been a way for him to paint himself. He also wrote art reviews for magazines like The Bell and Envoy. He painted portraits of many writers and artists he knew, like Patrick Kavanagh and Anthony Cronin. In November 1952, after his successful show, Swift moved to London.

Time in Italy and England

In 1954, Patrick Swift received a grant to study art in Italy. He went with Oonagh Ryan, who would later become his wife. After a year in Italy, he returned to Dublin for a short time.

In 1956, he moved back to London. He shared a cottage with a studio in Oakridge, Gloucestershire. From 1958 to 1959, he had a special art fellowship at the Digswell Arts Trust. He even shared a studio with another artist, Michael Andrews, for a while.

Living in London

Swift knew London well from earlier visits. In 1953, he shared a flat with Anthony Cronin. This flat became his studio. In 1959, he lived in Westbourne Terrace. It was during this time that he started X magazine.

His painting style changed in London. His earlier work had sharp lines and thin paint. But in London, he started using thicker paint and bolder brushstrokes. He would "draw with the brush" and move the paint around until it looked just right.

He painted many portraits of poets in London. People sometimes called him the "poets' painter." Many of his close friends were poets, and they saw him as "their" artist. These portraits are considered some of the best painted in Britain at that time. In 1962, Swift left London to travel in southern Europe.

Life in the Algarve

Swift's travels led him to a small fishing village called Carvoeiro in the Algarve region of Portugal. He loved the place so much that he decided to stay.

In the Algarve, he continued to paint. He also wrote and illustrated books about Portugal. One of his biggest achievements there was starting Porches Pottery (Olaria Algarve). He even designed the building for the pottery and other buildings in the area.

He had art shows in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1965, 1970, and 1974. He also designed the sets for a play called The Merry Wives of Windsor in Lisbon in 1977. Patrick Swift lived and worked in the Algarve from 1962 until he passed away in 1983. He is buried in the Igreja Matriz church in Porches. He designed the special artworks for the church's Stations of the Cross.

After His Death

After Patrick Swift passed away, his art continued to be celebrated. In 1993, a book about his life was published. This was at the same time as the big show of his work at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). Critics and artists praised this show.

In 2002, exhibitions called "Patrick Swift: An Irish Artist In Portugal" were held in Cork, Ireland, and Lisbon, Portugal. In 2004, his work was even shown on the BBC Antiques Roadshow. The Office of Public Works in Dublin held another exhibition of his paintings and drawings in 2005.

His portrait of Patrick Kavanagh is part of the CIÉ (Irish transport authority) collection. It has been shown in many exhibitions, including "CIE: Art On The Move." Some of his paintings from IMMA's collection were also shown in "The Moderns" exhibition from 2010 to 2011.

Solo Exhibitions

• 2005: Paintings, drawings, and watercolours by Patrick Swift, Office of Public Works Atrium, Dublin, Ireland
• 2002: An Irish Painter in Portugal Retrospective, Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork
• 1994: Patrick Swift 1927-83, Ulster Museum, Belfast
• 1993: Patrick Swift 1927-83, Irish Museum of Modern Art Retrospective, Dublin
• 1974: Pinturas de Patrick Swift, Galeria S Mamede, Lisbon
• 1965: Desenhos do Algarve, Diário de Notícias Gallery, Lisbon; an exhibition of Swift's drawings for Algarve: a portrait and a guide
• 1952: Paintings by Patrick Swift, Victor Waddington Galleries, Dublin

Group Exhibitions

• New Portraits, National Gallery of Ireland (Dec 2013 - Feb 2014), featuring Portrait of Anthony Cronin
• The Moderns, IMMA, October 2010 - February 2011; Forget-me-[K]nots on a Cane Table & London Self-Portrait - from IMMA's permanent collection
• Lunds Konsthall, Sweden, 1972; Study (with Holly), a painting from his first group exhibition, Irish Exhibition of Living Art, 1950; Study (with Holly) was also exhibited at the Cork Rosc, Irish Art 1943-73, 1980
• Portrait of Patrick Kavanagh (CIÉ collection): RHA, 1968; 1971 ROSC exhibition, The Irish Imagination; in 2005 it toured as part of the "CIE: Art On The Move" exhibitions
• Contemporary Arts Society Exhibition, Whitechapel Gallery, London, 1961; the Contemporary Arts Society bought The Garden (1959) and presented it to the Warrington Museum & Art Gallery
• "Drawings, watercolours, gouache, ceramics", Victor Waddington Galleries, Dublin, 1954; five watercolours
• Contemporary Irish Art, National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1953
• Leicester Galleries, Jan 1952, Plants in a Potting Shed
• Irish Exhibition of Living Art (1950, 51, 52, 54, 56)

Collections

• National Gallery of Ireland: Portrait of the Poet, Anthony Cronin; Girl in a Garden; Gnarled Olive Tree, Image.
• IMMA:Forget-me-Knots on a cane table; Self-Portrait in the Studio
• National Portrait Gallery (London): Patrick Kavanagh
• Ulster Museum, National Museums Northern Ireland, Positano Palm Tree
• National Self-Portrait Collection of Ireland, Limerick University: Self-Portrait, c. 1950, ink on paper Image
• Warrington Museum & Art Gallery, The Garden
• Glebe Gallery, Trees at St. Columb's, oil Image
• Dublin Writers Museum, Portrait of Patrick Kavanagh
• CIE Collection, Art on the move, Portrait of Patrick Kavanagh
• The Kelly Collection (Kelly’s Resort Hotel Rosslare), Trees in London, oil on board; image in For the Love of Art, The Kelly Collection [1]

Articles by Swift

• "David Wright", PN Review 14, Volume 6 Number 6, July - August 1980
• "Prolegomenon to George Barker", X, vol. I, No. 3, June 1960; also published in John Heath-Stubbs and Martin Green (eds) Homage to George Barker on his 60th Birthday (Martin Brian & O’Keefe, London, 1973)
• "The Bomberg Papers", edited by Swift, X, vol.1, no.3, June 1960; An Anthology from X (Oxford University Press, 1988)
• "The Painter in the Press" (under the pseudonym "James Mahon"), X A Quarterly Review, vol. I, no.4, October 1960; An Anthology from X (OUP 1988) read article
• "Official Art & The Modern Painter" (under the pseudonym "James Mahon"), X Quarterly Review, vol. I, no., November, 1959
• "Mob Morals and the Art of loving Art" (under the pseudonym "James Mahon"), X A Quarterly Review, vol. I, no.3, June 1960; An Anthology from X (OUP 1988)
• "Some notes on Caravaggio", Nimbus, Winter 1956 read article
• "By Way of Preface" (taken from "A Report to the Committee of Cultural Relations, Dept of External Affairs, on a Year spent in Italy in the study of Art & Painting, December 1955"), Gandon Editions Biography, 1993 read article
• "Painting – The RHA Exhibition", The Bell, vol. 17, no. 13, June 1951
• "The Artist Speaks", Envoy - A Review of Literature and Art, Vol. 4, no. 15, Feb 1951 read article
• "Nano Reid", Envoy – A Review of Literature and Art, March 1950 read article