A 26-year-old man has been charged with causing criminal damage to a piece of artwork after he allegedly threw a container of soup at a painting in an art gallery in Cork city earlier this month.
Thomas Shinnick from Kilcolman West, Buttevant, Co Cork was charged at Cork District Court with causing criminal damage to the painting at the Crawford Art Gallery on Emmet Place in Cork city.
The State alleges Mr Shinnick threw the soup at George Atkinson’s Anatomical Study, which is protected behind glazing in the Modern Gallery on the gallery’s second floor, on November 10th last.
Sgt John Kelleher sought an adjournment to allow for DPP’s directions. Defence solicitor Eddie Burke said that his client was consenting, and Judge Kelleher adjourned the matter to January 18th.
It is understood that the incident led to the closure of the Modern Gallery for a period to allow a clean-up operation to take place, but it has since reopened for business.
The artist, George Atkinson, was a leading Irish painter-etcher who studied at the Royal College of Art in London before being appointed headmaster of the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin in 1918.
A native of Cork, Mr Atkinson was appointed director when the Metropolitan School of Art was reconstituted as the National College of Art in 1936. He held the position until his death in 1941.
