There is now a second crucial reason to visit the Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham: in addition to the compelling paintings of Hughie O’Donoghue, which are on exhibition until May, you must go see the inspiring jewellery made by Alexander Calder.
He produced more than 1,800 pieces of jewellery, beginning in 1906 when he found some discarded copper wire in the street. He used a great assortment of non-precious materials and found objects, yet many of the pieces have the same linear yet three-dimensional quality as his famous wire sculptures and mobiles. His jewellery was coveted by the Surrealist coterie and today is sought after by museums and collectors. Here is Angelica Huston, wearing a necklace called "The Jealous Husband" (1940) first featured on the cover of the New York Times Magazinein 1976.