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Gerard Dillon (1916-1971)
Across from Inishlacken (c.1951)
Oil on board, 51 x 61cm (20 x 24'')
Signed
Provenance: Victor Waddington, from whom acquired by Sir Alfred Chester Beatty; sale, Hilditch &...
Gerard Dillon (1916-1971)
Across from Inishlacken (c.1951)
Oil on board, 51 x 61cm (20 x 24'')
Signed
Provenance: Victor Waddington, from whom acquired by Sir Alfred Chester Beatty; sale, Hilditch & Co., Malmesbury, Wiltshire, 13 February 1991, lot 179; Private Collection; The Eakin Gallery, Belfast, where acquired by the present owner c.2000.
The summer of 1951 marked a particularly idyllic period of Gerard Dillon’s life. Having been offered the use of a cottage on the island of Inishlacken, Dillon invited his two friends, George Campbell and James MacIntyre, to join him. They spent their time between the island and neighbouring Roundstone, socialising with the locals and producing seminal artworks that would later define their careers. This time was of such significance to MacIntyre that, forty years later, he documented the summer in his book ‘Three Men on an Island’.
‘Across from Inishlacken’ is a fairy-tale view of life on Ireland’s west coast. Dillon carefully conveys several relationships to us within the one scene, providing a snapshot of a romanticised island culture. To the fore, we are presented with a fishing net that reminds us of the strong dependence that these communities have on the sea. Paired with the overhanging clouds, we cannot help but turn our minds to the peril that often accompanies such work, each small vessel a victim to the whims of nature.
Immediately behind, we are captured by the romance unfolding between a fisherman and a young woman. Their bodies obscured by the rock, our view is focussed on the intent gaze that stretches between them, their soundless faces uttering more than any words. Regardless of how foreign life in the west may appear to Dillon’s patrons in Dublin, London and further afield, the artist brings familiarity to his work by using this most basic of human emotion.
Beyond them, in the middle ground, we are presented with the relationship between locals and animal life as a man struggles to restrain his charging mount. With colouration typical to that of the infamous Connemara pony, we can only presume that this image alludes to the area’s rich equine history. These hardy ponies played an integral part in rural livelihoods, aiding to clear land for farming, carrying loads to market and dragging seaweed from the beach to be utilised as fertiliser.
Presented hand in hand with the currach, the glimpse of Inishlacken is a reminder of the isolation faced by all living in these coastal communities. Separated both physically and culturally, the islanders are caught in an interdependent relationship, relying on each other for the everyday essentials.
During the 1950s, this isolation allowed the west to remain untouched by the more modern ideals and practices that infiltrated more eastern parts of Ireland. Thus, the culture came to stand for a lost ‘Irishness’ that was pined for by the romantics. Comprehensive accounts of this lifestyle, such as ‘Across from Inishlacken’, were well received, with this particular work being purchased by Alfred Chester Beatty shortly after his arrival in Ireland.
Helena Carlyle, May 2022
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