Dorothy Walker (16 January 1929 – 8 December 2002) was an

Irish art The history of Irish art starts around 3200 BC with Neolithic stone carvings at the Newgrange megalithic tomb, part of the Brú na Bóinne complex which still stands today, County Meath. In early-Bronze Age Ireland there is evidence of Beaker cult ...

critic and a vocal champion of abstract modernism in Ireland.

Life and career

Born Dorothy Cole in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

in 1929 to the owner of a fruit and vegetable business, living in

Mountjoy Square Mountjoy Square () is a Georgian garden square in Dublin, Ireland, on the Northside of the city just under a kilometre from the River Liffey. One of five Georgian squares in Dublin, it was planned and developed in the late 18th century by Lu ...

, Dublin, and educated in the Dominican Convent Wicklow and

École du Louvre The École du Louvre is an institution of higher education and grande école located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology and epigraphy. Admission is ...

in Paris she was a co-founder of the occasion modern art exhibition Rosc and a board member and even an interim director of the

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 ...

. She was married to architect Robin Walker with whom she had five children. After her death the museum held an exhibition in her honour, featuring work by artists, such as Patrick Scott and

Sean Scully Sean Scully (born 30 June 1945) is an Irish-born American-based artist working as a painter, printmaker, sculptor and photographer. His work is held in museum collections worldwide and he has twice been named a Turner Prize nominee. Moving fro ...

who she particularly favoured. Her books include a rare but much admired discussion of contemporary Irish art.

Bibliography

* (1997) ''Modern art in Ireland''. Dublin: Liliput, * ''Michael Scott, Architect in (casual) conversation with Dorothy Walker'' (Kinsale: Gandon Editions 1995) * ''Without the Walls'': John Aiken, James Coleman, Felim Egan, Brian King, Ciaran Lennon,

Alanna O'Kelly Alanna O'Kelly (, also spelled Alannah; born 1955) is an Irish artist, active in performance art and installation art, as well as sculpture, song, land art and film. She is a member of Aosdána, an elite association of Irish artists. Biography ...

, Michael O’Sullivan,

Nigel Rolfe Nigel Rolfe (born 1950) is an English-born performance artist and video artist based in Ireland. He is a member of Aosdána, an elite association of Irish artists. Biography Rolfe was born on the Isle of Wight in 1950. He studied at the Farnha ...

, Noel Sheridan CA Main Gallery, The Mall, London SW1, 16 Feb.-16 March 1980; A Sense of Ireland Ser.(London: ICA 1980)

References

Sources

* Caoimhín Mac Giolla Léith (2003) Dorothy Walker 1929-2002
CIRCA 103
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Dorothy Irish art critics 1929 births 2002 deaths