The Contemporary Irish Art Society (CIAS) is an Irish society founded in 1962 to support the visual arts in Ireland. It purchases art works directly to donate to public galleries, as well as advising other bodies on works by living Irish artists.
It also collects photographs.
History
The society's founders include
Sir Basil Goulding
Sir William Basil Goulding (4 November 1909 – 16 January 1982) was an Irish art collector, cricketer, squash player and prominent businessman.
Personal life
Sir Basil Goulding was born in Dublin, Ireland, and was educated at Winchester College ...
, who served as the first chair,
Cecil King,
Gordon Lambert
Charles Gordon Lambert (9 April 1919 – 27 January 2005) was an Irish businessman, senator, and art collector who, in 1992, donated over 300 paintings to the Irish Museum of Modern Art. He had earlier campaigned for an Irish national modern art c ...
,
Michael Scott and others.
The first work purchased was ''Large Solar Device'' by
Patrick Scott in 1963.
During the 1960s and early 1970s it supported the
Hugh Lane Gallery
The Hugh Lane Gallery, officially Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane and originally the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, is an art museum operated by Dublin City Council and its subsidiary, the Hugh Lane Gallery Trust. It is in Charlemont House ( ...
in Dublin, which received around forty works of art, including works by
Gerard Dillon,
Gerda Frömel
Gerda Frömel (1931 – 3 August 1975) was a sculptor, born in Czechoslovakia, who lived for an extended period in Ireland, where her work received critical acclaim. She received commissions for sculpture and stained glass and exhibited at the I ...
,
James Scanlon
James Scanlon (born 26 January 1948) is an Australian equestrian. He competed in two events at the 1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( ...
,
William Scott and
Camille Souter.
Rosemarie Mulcahy calls Scanlon's ''Study no. 2 for Miró'', a stained glass donated by the society, "one of the delights" of the Hugh Lane collection.
Since 1974, the society has donated works to the
Butler Gallery
Butler Gallery is a contemporary art gallery and museum in Kilkenny, Ireland. It presents a collection of works by Irish and international artists from the 18th century to the present day. A wing has been devoted to the work of the Callan arti ...
,
Irish Museum of Modern Art
The Irish Museum of Modern Art ( ga, Áras Nua-Ealaíne na hÉireann) also known as IMMA, is Ireland's leading national institution for the collection and presentation of modern and contemporary art. Located in Kilmainham, Dublin, the Museum pr ...
(IMMA),
Kilkenny Castle
Kilkenny Castle ( ga, Caisleán Chill Chainnigh, IPA: kaʃlʲaːnˠˈçiːl̪ʲˈxan̪ʲiː is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland built in 1195 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several routeways. It was a symbol o ...
,
University of Galway
The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...
and
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...
, among other institutions.
In 1978, the society began to collect art works on paper, and its collection of these works was first exhibited in London and Ireland in 1980.
In 2005, the society held a joint exhibition with IMMA, SIAR 50, which showcased around a hundred works from the preceding 50 years collected by the society and its members.
IMMA states that the collection documents "almost all the major developments in Irish art over the past 50 years" and notes "The keen eye which its members brought to their choice of works is clearly evident in the number of artists, relatively unknown at the time of purchase, who have since gone on to become leading figures in the Irish, and indeed international, visual art arenas."
In a review of the exhibition, art critic
Brian Fallon called the society's collecting "astute" and stated that the exhibition was "a highly representative selection of Irish art over nearly half a century."
He also praised the collection of sculpture.
References
{{reflist
External links
Contemporary Irish Art Society website
Clubs and societies in the Republic of Ireland
Arts in the Republic of Ireland
Arts organizations established in 1962