In May 2006 the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery will present a unique exhibition
entitled “Whipping the Herring: Survival and Celebration in Nineteenth
Century Irish Art”.
Whipping the Herring, the title taken from Nathaniel Grogan’s Whipping
the Herring Out of Town: A Cork Scene, will include over eighty paintings
and drawings, depicting scenes of Irish life from the early nineteenth to
the early twentieth century – vivid and colourful depictions of fairs
and festivals, pilgrimages and pubs, marriages and wakes - the full panoply
of everyday life in the countryside and in villages and towns throughout
Ireland.
The works are drawn from private and public collections throughout Ireland,
as well as from the Crawford Gallery’s own collection. A number will
also be borrowed from collections in Britain. Many of these works will not
have been exhibited publicly for many years.
Artists from Cork, such as Nathaniel Grogan, Daniel McDonald, James Brenan,
Henry Jones Thaddeus, Maria Spilsbury Taylor, Sarah Purser, Jack B. Yeats,
Walter Osborne, and Paul Henry will feature prominently in the exhibition,
who left a vivid eyewitness account of Irish life.
In addition, artists from Britain, such as Cornelius Varley, Francis W.Topham
and Frederick Goodall, also provide a fascinating insight into Irish traditions
and material culture.
Contributors to the exhibition, and to the catalogue, include Dr. Claudia
Kinmonth, Prof. Tom Dunne, an authority on 19th century Irish history and
editor of the catalogue for the recent James Barry exhibition; Dr. Julian
Campbell, a leading art historian specialising in 19th century Irish art,
and Peter Murray, director of the Crawford Gallery.
The full-colour catalogue will contain new essays by the above writers and
the exhibition will also be accompanied by Study Day on Friday 19th May
in which key speakers will discuss aspects of the work exhibited. In addition
to an education programme targeting primary, second-level students and senior
citizens, free guided tours will be given every Saturday at 12 noon (no
booking is required).
"Whipping the Herring" will be the inaugural event of the Crawford's
new status as a national cultural institution. The exhibition will run from
May 6 to August 26, 2006.