THE DECISION by AIB to donate some 39 paintings to the State ensured Ireland retained an important part of its national cultural treasury, Minister for Arts Jimmy Deenihan said yesterday as he officially opened an exhibition of the works in Cork.
The paintings by some of the most famous names in Irish art in the 19th and early 20th century such as Jack B Yeats, Seán Keating, Paul Henry and Roderic O’Conor have been given by the State to the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork.
Mr Deenihan said he believed it was appropriate that the works should be exhibited at the gallery as it was the only national cultural institution in the country outside of Dublin and it offered a fine exhibition space in which to show the paintings.
“I think it’s only appropriate that our iconic works of arts be distributed throughout the length and breadth of the country.
“The collection here would match any and it certainly is a great addition to the very valuable collection already here at the Crawford,” he said.
Crawford gallery director Peter Murray said the AIB Bank collection helped fill in some gaps in the gallery’s existing collection of 2,900 paintings.
He cited Roderic O’Conor and William Scott as two artists who were not already represented with works at the gallery.
"O'Connor and Scott are very sought-after artists and it would be very difficult for the Crawford in normal circumstances to be able to get a beautiful painting like O'Conor's The Red Rocks at Pont Aven.
“It would be very difficult for us to go after them,” he said.
Gallery chairman John Bowen hailed yesterday’s announcement as one of the most significant in the history of the gallery and paid tribute to Mr Deenihan and AIB for their generosity.
“To me, it represents a coming-of-age for the Crawford as a national cultural institution in the sense that this is perhaps the definitive collection of late 19th century and early 20th century Irish art, put together not just with money but also with great judgment.
“To have this entrusted to our care in the Crawford is tremendous. It is truly is a rebalancing of a very important national resource which is our art history heritage.”