Visit a Sligo ExhibitionOn this page, you can discover all the exhibitions which are currently being held in Sligo.
Choose amongst indoor and outdoor exhibitions and find out when and where exhibitions of your interest are taking place. |
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Jack Butler Yeats - Salt Water Ballads
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Jack Butler Yeats (1871-1957) grew up in Sligo, in the care of his maternal grandparents Elizabeth & William Pollexfen. From an early age, the young artist was steeped in the rich sea-faring culture of the area, where the ocean connected a small town on Europe’s western periphery with the enigmatic outside world. Throughout Yeats’ long career as an artist, this fascination with the drama and mystique of the ocean remained a constant amongst his many abiding artistic themes.
Yeats’ affinity with the sea was shared by his good friend, the acclaimed poet John Masefield. Masefield had joined the navy aged just 13 years, and set sail for Chile on his first voyage three years later. Masefield and Jack Yeats bonded over their shared love of art and theatre, tales of the high seas, sea-faring vessels and pirate lore. In the summer of 1901, Masefield holidayed at Yeats’ home in Devon, where together they fashioned model boats from the rough materials to hand - card board boxes, tin cans, stones, wood and paper, and sailed them in a nearby stretch of water called the Gara River. During that time, Yeats and Masefield also collaborated artistically on a rich treasure trove of oceanic drama, comprised of ballads, miniature plays and illustrations. Chief amongst the human characters that populated their imaginary sea-themed dreamscape was Theodore, a cabin boy and the adopted son of the infamous French pirate, Jean Lafitte. In 2017, The Niland Collection was gifted a body of work by Jack Butler Yeats, purchased especially by a private collector. Among these works was a wooden linen chest, lined with 19 sea-themed watercolour drawings by the artist. Due to their placement on wood and metal, the drawings had deteriorated somewhat in the 100 years since their creation. In 2020, The Model secured funds from the Heritage Council for their restoration; and in a process led by Dr Patrick McBride, one of Ireland’s leading conservators, each individual work was carefully removed and restored. In an unexpected turn of events, new works by Yeats were revealed underneath the visible drawings, including two unseen watercolours, as well as a number of prints. This exhibition includes the restored watercolours, as well as the original Linen Chest with replica drawings affixed as the originals were placed. Yeats’ own collection of model and handmade boats, which were also donated by the same benefactor is also on view. The miniature figure of Theodore, the Pirate, with the word ‘help’ written on this back, was found during the conservation work, stowed away in the hull of one of the model boats. Where: The Model, Sligo When: 12 Oct '24 - February '25 More info: Salt Water Ballads - The Model, Sligo. |
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Ever Present Celebrating 100 Years of A
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On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Friends of the National Collections of Ireland (FNCI), The Model presents a unique selection of artworks gifted to The Niland Collection from the 1960s to the present day. The first presentation by the FNCI to Sligo County Library and Museum was made in 1961 when the following group of works were given – Dermod O'Brien, Landscape; William Leech, No 3 Parnell Square; J. A. McNeill Whistler, Maunders Fishshop, Chelsea; Mary Swanzy, Abstract; J Crampton Walker, A Sussex Farm and Anne Yeats, Face In Distress. The Sea and The Lighthouse by Jack Butler Yeats was gifted in 1965. Bequeathed to the FNCI by Dorothea Case in 1947, this work is now a cornerstone of The Niland Collection, and continues to offer both contemporary and historical narratives to our multi-vocal curatorial vision.
The acquisition of these works is also testimony to the vision of Nora Niland, who played a significant role in attracting such important artworks to help build Sligo’s municipal collection. Niland follows in the footsteps of other inspirational Irish women, who dedicated their lives to the development of the visual arts in Ireland, notably artist Sarah Purser, who was an active collector of artworks; which she hung in the rooms of her home, Mespil House, Dublin. Purser regularly hosted artist gatherings in her home and in 1924, she and a group of friends founded The Friends of the National Collections of Ireland – for the purpose of acquiring works of art and objects of historical interest and donating them to national and regional art galleries and museums throughout Ireland. This exhibition brings together works which are both thought-provoking and contemplative, and which mirror the thoughts, subject matter and concerns of artists throughout the twentieth century. Where: The Model, Sligo When: 25 October '24 - 28 December '24 More info: Ever Present - The Model, Sligo. |
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