The White Stag Group was a group of artists centred on the painters

Basil Rakoczi Basil Ivan Rákóczi (31 May 1908 – 21 March 1979) was an English artist born in London. He was a prominent and leading member of the Irish art group, the White Stag, along with Kenneth Hall. Biography Rákóczi was born on 31 May 1908 in ...

and Kenneth Hall. Founded in London in 1935, the group moved to Ireland in 1939 and stayed until after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

where they gained Irish members like Thurloe Conolly, Paul Egestorff, Stephen Gilbert and Patrick Scott. Their group philosophy, which they called ''Subjectivist Art'', was not associated with any particular style or set belief. Instead, it encouraged an exploration of

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and of

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

ideas. They also believed in aesthetic experimentation and

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...

as an objective in art. Although formed in London and guided by two British born artists (Hall and Rakozci) the group has been described as "an Irish phenomenon" by the Irish art expert Dr. S.B. Kennedy. The group was at the vanguard of modern artistic ideas in Ireland, were involved in the

Irish Exhibition of Living Art The Irish Exhibition of Living Art (IELA) was a yearly exhibition of Irish abstract expressionism and avant-garde Irish art that was started in 1943 by Mainie Jellett. Background World War II Ireland During World War II, Ireland remained ...

and influenced Patrick Scott,

Gerald Dillon Gerard Dillon (191614 June 1971) was an Irish painter and artist. Life Dillon was born in Belfast, he left school at the age of fourteen and for seven years worked as a painter and decorator, mostly in London. From an early age he was intere ...

and

Louis le Brocquy __NOTOC__ Louis le Brocquy ''HRHA'' (; 10 November 1916 – 25 April 2012) was an Irish painter born in Dublin to Albert and Sybil le Brocquy. His work received many accolades in a career that spanned some seventy years of creative practice ...

. The Irish composer

Brian Boydell Brian Patrick Boydell (17 March 1917 – 8 November 2000) was an Irish composer whose works include orchestral pieces, chamber music, and songs. He was Professor of Music at Trinity College Dublin for 20 years, founder of the Dowland Consort, con ...

, at that time a visual artist, was also a member of the group. 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 ...

put on a White Stag retrospective during the summer of 2005.

Bibliography

*S.B. Kennedy: ''The White Stag Group'' (Dublin: Irish Museum of Modern Art, 2005), .

References

External links

The Irish Museum of Modern Art
announce their White Stag exhibition.
irishabroad.com
article on Irish art during the Emergency with a discussion of the White Stag Group. British artist groups and collectives British art Irish art Arts organizations established in 1935 {{ireland-stub