11 May 2015
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
The community organisation, Grange-Frankfield Partnership, has organised an additional fixture to its highly acclaimed biannual Vernon Mount Lecture Series, with a special lecture to honour the memory of Sir Hugh Lane, who was born in Ballybrack House on Donnybrook Hill, in November 1875.
Lane was gifted with an exceptional eye for quality, and was to become one of Europe’s foremost collectors and dealers in Impressionist and Old Masters paintings. He was appointed Director of the Irish National Gallery, and a much sought after authority in the art world, and was on his ill-fated return journey from New York, where he had been sent on a commission by Lloyd’s of London to adjudicate on the disputed valuation of a damaged art collection. In 1975, the centenary of Lane’s birth, Dublin’s Municipal Art Gallery was renamed the Dublin City Gallery Hugh Lane, in honour of its generous benefactor.
Robert O’Byrne, one of Ireland’s best-known speakers and writers about the country’s art and architectural heritage will deliver the lecture titled “Lusitania Tragedy claims the life of Cork-born internationally renowned art expert.” – The Life and Times of Sir Hugh Lane. He is the author of more than a dozen books, his first being a biography of Sir Hugh Lane published in 2000. Author of the award-winning blog, www.theirishaesthete.com, Robert writes a monthly column for Apollo magazine and also contributes to the quarterly Irish Arts Review. He is Vice-President of the Irish Georgian Society and a trustee of the Alfred Beit Foundation, responsible for the care of Ireland’s most beautiful historic house, Russborough, County Wicklow.
This lecture takes place in Douglas Library on Thursday 14th May at 7 p.m. sharp and is free of charge.
Booking is not required but as capacity attendance is anticipated, early arrival is recommended.
