Sculpture At The National Gallery

The National Gallery of Ireland, which opened in 1864, is situated in the heart of Dublin with entrances onto Merrion Square and Clare Street. It houses the national collection of European and Irish art, including a number of works by outstanding sculptors, in bronze, marble, stone and wood.

The NGI's sculpture collection, dating principally from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, is dispersed throughout the building in various picture galleries. In previous years, a number of plaster casts from Greek sculpture were exhibited on the ground floor. Nowadays, the study of such antiquities is enhanced by the Gallery's collection of eighteenth century marble copies, executed by Cavaceppi and Piamontini, and by the smaller Florentine bronzes of Hercules (by Tacca) and the late eighteenth century statue of Adonis (by Poncet).

Echo 1981, by Irish sculptor
Rowan Gillespie.

More numerous is Irish sculpture, featuring portrait busts by Cunningham, Foley, Hewetson, Hogan, Kirk, plus works by Moore and Turnerelli.

A statue by Farrell, in memory of William Dargan, is situated just outside the Gallery.

In addition, the National Gallery of Ireland boasts a number of bronzes by Rodin, Dalou and Epstein, a baroque portrait by Duquesnoy as well as life-size statues of Cronos (by Dietz), a processional figure of Elias (attributed to Villabrille y Ron), and a statue of Eurydice (by MacDonald).

[Note: For more Irish sculptors, read about the Waterford sculptor John Foley, the Ulster sculptress Rosamund Praeger, the traditional Cork stone sculptor Seamus Murphy, the Surrealist FE McWilliam from County Down, the Polish-Irish sculptress Alexandra Wejchert, the steel sculptor Conor Fallon, the bird artist Oisin Kelly, and the contemporary Derry sculptor Eamonn O'Doherty.]

Chuchulainn (1911), by Irish sculptor
Oliver Sheppard.

Other Items

As well as works of fine art, the National Gallery possesses a small number of objets d'art, such as glass created in the 1920s and 1930s by Maurice Marinot, together with pieces of stained glass art by Irish artists like Evie Hone HRHA (1894–1955) and Harry Clarke RHA (1889-1931). In addition, the Gallery houses a number of pieces of Irish furniture and silver from the eighteenth century, which are on show throughout the building.

More Details

For more information about sculpture housed at the National Gallery of Ireland, telephone: 01-661-5133.

More Details About The Top Irish Art Galleries

For reviews of the best museums of arts in Ireland, see:
- National Gallery of Ireland
- National Museum of Ireland
- Irish Museum of Modern Art
- Hugh Lane Gallery Dublin
- Chester Beatty Library
- Trinity College Dublin Library
- National Self-Portrait Collection
- The Hunt Museum (Limerick)
- Ulster Museum.

• For details of other Leinster fine art exhibitions and collections, see: Irish Art Galleries and Museums.
• For facts about painting and sculpture in Ireland, see: Irish Art Encyclopedia