Cecil Noel Sheridan (12 December 1936 – 12 July 2006) was an Irish painter,

performance artist Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

installation artist Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

and actor. He was a member of

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...

, an elite Irish association of artists.

Early life

Sheridan was born in

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 ...

in 1936. His father was Cecil Brinsley Sheridan, a noted comic actor and panto dame at the

Olympia Theatre, Dublin The Olympia Theatre, known for sponsorship and advertising purposes as the 3Olympia Theatre, is a concert hall and theatre venue in Dublin, Ireland, located on Dame Street. In addition to Irish acts, the venue has played host to many well-known ...

. Noel attended

Synge Street CBS Synge Street CBS (colloquially Synger) is a boys' non-fee-paying state school, under the auspices of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, located in the Dublin 8 area of Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1864 by Canon ...

and worked for the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

''; he studied for a

Bachelor of Communications A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

at Trinity College at night, and began to perform with the Trinity Players.

Career

He was also an amateur artist, painting abstract

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of Terrestrial ecoregion, land, its landforms, and how they integrate with Nature, natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionar ...

, his work appearing from 1958 in the annual exhibitions of Living Art and at the

Paris Biennale The ''Biennale de Paris'' (English: Paris Biennale) is a noted French art festival. History The 'Biennale de Paris' was launched by Raymond Cogniat in 1959 and set up by André Malraux as he was Minister of Culture to present an overview of young ...

in 1960; he represented Ireland at the 1962

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Convention of young painters in Paris and won the Carroll Prize for Painting in 1965 and 1969. Sheridan worked as a gallery attendant in the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

(New York), painting by night, and got a scholarship for

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1967 for a masters in fine art. He was from 1980 to 2002 director of the

National College of Art and Design The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of th ...

(NCAD, Dublin). He was also a committee member of

Rosc Rosc was a series of international modern art exhibitions held in Dublin, Ireland approximately every 4 years between 1967 and 1988. History Rosc is from the Old Irish for a short poem, but for the art exhibitions is interpreted as "the poet ...

and was elected to

. Sheridan also worked in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for many years, and was Director of the Experimental Art Foundation in Adelaide from 1975 to 1980 and won the emeritus medal of the

Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

in 1994.

Personal life

Sheridan was married to Liz Murphy; they had 5 children. He died in 2006.

Paul Durcan Paul Durcan (born 16 October 1944) is a contemporary Irish poet. Early life Durcan was born and grew up in Dublin and in Turlough, County Mayo. His father, John, was a barrister and circuit court judge; father and son had a difficult and forma ...

wrote a poem in his honour after his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheridan, Noel Irish male painters Aosdána members Painters from Dublin (city) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Columbia University alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Irish landscape painters 2006 deaths 1936 births