The Crawford Art Gallery ( ga, Áiléar Crawford) is a public art gallery and museum in the city of

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland. Known informally as the Crawford, it was designated a 'National Cultural Institution' in 2006. It is "dedicated to the visual arts, both historic and contemporary", and welcomed 265,438 visitors in 2019. The gallery is named after

William Horatio Crawford William Horatio Crawford (1815–1888) was an Irish brewer and philanthropist. He was both a book collector and art collector, and contributed to the art school at the Cork School of Design, which became known as the Crawford College of Art and De ...

History

The Crawford is based in the centre of Cork in what used to be the Cork Customs House, built in 1724. The Customs House became home to the

Royal Cork Institution Royal Cork Institution was an Irish cultural institution in the city of Cork from 1803 to 1885. It consisted of a library of scientific works, a museum with old Irish manuscripts and stones with ogham inscriptions, and lecture and reading rooms. ...

(RCI) in the 1830s, and the RCI was involved in opening the Cork School of Design on the site in 1850. In the early 1880s, the Cork School of Design was extended with funds and patronage from members of the Crawford family, who were local landowners and brewers. For this reason the school was renamed as the Crawford School of Art in 1885. In 1979, the art school transferred to another site, and the Crawford building used primarily as a gallery and museum. The museum buildings were substantially extended in 2000.

Collections

Among the earliest acquisitions in the gallery's collection are casts of classical Greek and Roman statues by

Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cla ...

. These were brought to Cork from the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

in 1818. The Royal Cork Institution acquired these works from the Society of Fine Arts in Cork, who had been given the casts by the Prince Regent (later

George IV of the United Kingdom George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

). He in turn had received them from

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

, who had commissioned Antonio Canova to make a set of plasters from statues in the Vatican. Due to the gallery's association with the Cork School of Art (later known as the

Crawford College of Art and Design Cork Institute of Technology (CIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Chorcaí) was an institute of technology, located in Cork, Ireland. Upon its dissolution, the institute had 17,000 students studying in art, business, engineering, music, d ...

), some items in the museum collection are by staff and students of the school. These include works by

James Brenan James Brenan (1837 – 7 August 1907) was an Irish artist. Career Brenan was among the most popular painters of nineteenth-century Ireland. He travelled to London where he studied decorative arts under Ownen Jones and Matthew Digby Wyatt. ...

(who was headmaster of the school from 1860 to 1889) and students such as

Henry Jones Thaddeus Henry Jones Thaddeus (1859 – 1929) was a realist and portrait painter born and trained in County Cork, Ireland. Life and career Born Henry Thaddeus Jones in 1859, he entered the ''Cork School of Art'' when he was ten years old. There he ...

and William Gerard Barry. Other items in the collection include works by sculptors such as John Hogan and

Eilis O'Connell Eilis O'Connell (born 1953, Derry, Northern Ireland) is an abstract sculptor. She is known for her free-standing works and wall pieces. Early life and education O'Connell was born in Derry and educated at the Crawford School of Art, Cork, Ire ...

, stained-glass artists like

Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau an ...

and

Evie Hone Eva Sydney Hone RHA (22 April 1894 – 13 March 1955), usually known as Evie, was an Irish painter and stained glass artist.Nicola Gordon Bowe (May 2009)Hone, Eva Sydney (1894–1955) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', online editi ...

, painters including William Orpen (a student of James Brenan), Jack B. Yeats, and

Nano Reid Nano, Nano-, NANO or NaNo may refer to: People * Nano (singer) (born 1988), Japanese-American J-pop singer * Nano Omar (born 1986), Swedish singer * Nano Riantiarno (born 1949), Indonesian director * Agnese Nano (born 1965), Italian actress * ...

, as well as photographer

Bob Carlos Clarke Robert Carlos Clarke (24 June 1950 – 25 March 2006) was a British-Irish photographer who made erotic images of women as well as documentary, portrait and commercial photography. Carlos Clarke produced six books during his career: ''The ...

. The gallery hosts education and outreach programmes, and manages temporary and travelling exhibitions.

References

External links

Crawford Art Gallery website
{{authority control Art museums and galleries in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in Cork (city) Museums in County Cork Government buildings completed in 1724 Art museums established in 1979 1979 establishments in Ireland Tourist attractions in Cork (city)

History

Collections

See also

References

External links