A single Patrick Scott painting can be called "an enticement", said the poet, Dennis O'Driscoll. "It cleanses our vision, modifies our understanding, strengthens our senses . . . and alters our priorities." Scott, said the guest speaker, "is a prophet who is recognised in his own land . . . we are already smitten", the poet said. We were, he said, "Scott maniacs".
We lined the walls of the Hugh Lane Gallery for a retrospective of Patrick Scott's work.
Lady Valerie Goulding, founder and former chairwoman of the Central Remedial Clinic, was determined to come. She made a rare appearance at the show, with Helena McDarby and John Corcoran, of the Order of Malta. Arriving in a blue trouser suit, she was delighted with the show. The painter, Camille Souter, who travelled specially from wild and wind-swept Mayo, said the show "is mighty".
Art historian Ruairí de Valera said: "It's absolutely beautiful . . . they are extraordinary in spirt and full of life."
Cork Sculptor Ken Thompson, who has known Scott for about 30 years, was just back after completing a set of the Stations of the Cross in the Church of St Thomas More in Chelsea, which will be opened by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor in March. Next, he starts work on an eight-foot-high statue of St Patrick for Lough Derg, he said. His wife, the painter Rachel Thompson, will have an exhibition in Middleton in the Courtyard Gallery opening on May Day. Two of their children, Simon (9), and his older brother, Philip, were there too.
Architects Tom de Paor and Raymund Ryan, artist Seán Hillen and Veronica Sanderson all chatted about the work. Maria Doyle Kennedy was talking to a group of people including potter Stephen Pearce, who is Scott's godson. Pearce's wife, Kim Mai, and their two young children, Oran Pearce (8) and Mirin Pearce (10), were also at the opening.
Designer Cyane Kingston, who is planning a show at the end of April, said yes, she was one of Pat's best younger-generation mates. "He's multi-generational," she said of the 81-year-old painter, who is their neighbour and goes night-clubbing with them.
Noel Sheridan, director of the National College of Art and Design, said he was "blown away" by the show. "He's alive. It's so appropriate that this great man is right in the middle of his wonderful work."
The great man himself was happy, as he felt "waves of love" washing over him. About 800 people attended the private view of the retrospective which runs until Sunday, April 28th.