Diarmuid Larkin (1 April 1918 – 25 June 1989) was an Irish artist and art educationist, who was predominantly a painter of landscapes. Becoming more abstract over time, his work reflected the warmth and sensitivity of his own personality. Larkin, Diarmuid
on

Dictionary of Irish Biography The ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (DIB) is a biographical dictionary of notable Irish people and people not born in the country who had notable careers in Ireland, including both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

to an

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

family belonging to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

. He was the eldest of three children born to Maura Larkin (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Noonan) and John Larkin (also known as Seán Ó Lorcáin), a Dublin businessman. Despite showing early signs of talent and wishing to become an artist, Larkin's father opposed it and apprenticed him as a

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

with the Dublin Illustrating Company. In 1941, Larkin entered the school of painting at the National College of Art. While there, he worked with several distinguished artists, including

Harry Kernoff Harry Aaron Kernoff (9 January 1900 – 25 December 1974) was an Irish genre-painter. He depicted Dublin street and pub scenes and Dublin landmarks, as well as producing landscapes, woodcut illustrations, portraits, and set designs. Early ...

Norah McGuinness Norah Allison McGuinness (7 November 1901 – 22 November 1980) was an Irish painter and illustrator. Early life Norah McGuinness was born in County Londonderry. She attended life classes at Derry Technical School and from 1921 studied at ...

, and Maurice MacGonigal. He graduated in 1945 and began studying at the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acad ...

in Madrid until 1947, after which he studied briefly in Paris.

Career

Larkin returned to Dublin and set up a lithography company, but soon decided to sell it and devote himself to art. In 1953, he joined the Ballinasloe vocational educational committee as a teacher of art; in 1957, he moved to Mullingar (civil parish), Mullingar, and in 1961, he moved to Dún Laoghaire Further Education Institute, where he established a one-year course for those looking to become teachers of art – the first one-year foundation course in an art school in Ireland. The Dún Laoghaire School of Art and Design later became a constituent school of the

Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology ( ga, Institiúid Ealaíona, Dearadh agus Teicneolaíochta Dhún Laoghaire), more commonly known as IADT Dún Laoghaire or simply IADT is an institute of technology with a focus on art and ...

. In 1967, Larkin became professor of art at the teacher training college in

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a Enterprise risk management, risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackR ...

, a position he held until his retirement in 1983. In 1969, Larkin became a member of the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

's advisory council, set up "to restructure the National College of Art after it had been removed from direct government control following the student sit-in which had lasted for six weeks... of that year." In August 1969, he and several colleagues resigned due to a dispute with the minister for education

Pádraig Faulkner Pádraig Faulkner (12 March 1918 – 1 June 2012) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann from 1980 to 1981, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence 1979 to 1980, Minister for Posts and T ...

. In 1978, he returned to the college and was appointed to the new board alongside John O'Meara, artist

Muriel Brandt Muriel Brandt (16 January 1909 - 10 June 1981) was an Irish artist known for her portraiture and murals. Early life and family Muriel Brandt was born Muriel McKinley in Colenso Parade, Belfast on 16 January 1909. Her parents were Florence Ann ...

, and architect Patrick Shaffrey. Larkin's 1981 book ''Art teaching and learning: A Seven-year Manual for the Primary/Elementary Teacher'' (described as an "enduring contribution to art education in Ireland") details Larkin's own philosophy. He believed that art should be a "multi-sensory experience" for children, which would improve their critical thinking and ultimately enhance their adult life.Diarmuid Larkin
on Ross's As a venture and by his own choice, Larkin's creative work was rarely public or sold at auction. Many of his landscape paintings were inspired by the picturesque Atlantic region of

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

. Though figurative, his direct style became far more abstract after visiting the United States on a research trip in around 1970, at which point he was heavily influenced by abstract expressionism and the works of such artists as

Arshile Gorky Arshile Gorky (; born Vostanik Manoug Adoian, hy, Ոստանիկ Մանուկ Ատոյեան; April 15, 1904 – July 21, 1948) was an Armenian-American painter who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. He spent the last years of his ...

Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He was widely noticed for his " drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household paint onto a hor ...

, and

Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning (; ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. He was born in Rotterdam and moved to the United States in 1926, becoming an American citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married painter El ...

. Larkin saw his own work as a "response to the constant flux of nature," attempting "to capture his experience of a place or scene and his emotional reaction to it." Larkin exhibited at the Aisling Galleries, New York, Robinson Gallery, Dublin and exhibited about fifty works at the

Royal Hibernian Academy The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the RIA, the academy retained the word "Royal" after most of Ireland became in ...

in Dublin. His works include ''Wolfhound'', ''Boats in the dock'', ''Wicklow'', ''Path Through the Moors'', and ''Amagedon'', which sold for $4,531 in 2006.

Personal life

Larkin had two daughters and five sons. One son,

Seán Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

, has held senior posts at several Irish art institutions, including director of the Dún Laoghaire School of Art and Design.

Death and burial

Diarmuid Larkin died on 25 June 1989 in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

, Dublin. He was buried on 28 June in

Shanganagh Cemetery Shanganagh Cemetery is a cemetery in south County Dublin, in the administrative county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown just to the south of Shankill. The cemetery consists of two areas, on the Dublin Road, the other to the east, on the western sid ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Diarmuid 1918 births 1989 deaths Painters from Dublin (city) 20th-century Irish male artists Irish male painters Irish landscape painters Modern painters Abstract painters Impressionist painters Art educators Alumni of the National College of Art and Design Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando alumni