Albert Power (sculptor)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Albert George Power (16 November 1881 – 10 July 1945) was an Irish sculptor in the academic realist style. He is particularly known for his iconic statue of the Irish writer
Pádraic Ó Conaire Pádraic Ó Conaire (28 February 1882 – 6 October 1928) was an Irish writer and journalist whose production was primarily in the Irish language. In his lifetime he wrote 26 books, 473 stories, 237 essays and 6 plays. His acclaimed novel '' ...
.


Early life and family

Albert George Power was born at 8 Barrack Street (now Benburb Street) 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 ...
on 16 November 1881. His parents were Mary (née Atkins), an embroideress, and Henry Power, watchmaker. He had one older brother, and one younger sister. He attended a Christian Brothers national school in North Brunswick Street. As a child he played in local clay brickyards and sculpted busts of his friends. After finishing his primary school education, he trained with a firm of sculptors run by Edward Smyth. In 1884 he enrolled as an evening pupil at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art (DMSA), later attending as a full-time student from 1906 to 1911. During his time at the DMSA he was taught and strongly influenced by John Hughes,
Oliver Sheppard Oliver Sheppard (10 April 1865 – 14 September 1941) was an Irish sculptor, most famous for his 1911 bronze statue of the mythical Cuchullain dying in battle. His work was also part of the art competitions at the 1924 Summer Olympics and the ...
and
William Orpen Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do in ...
. Power won a number of prizes during his time at the DMSA, including medals, 3 scholarships, book prizes, and the national gold medal for the best modelling of a nude figure, in Ireland, Scotland, and the Channel Islands in 1911. Power married Agnes Kelly in 1903.The couple had 10 children, 4 daughters and 6 sons, including
May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...
and
James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...
who also became sculptors.


Career

Power established his own stone-carving business in 1912 from his new home at 18 Geraldine Street,
Phibsborough Phibsborough (; ), also spelled Phibsboro, is a mixed commercial and residential neighbourhood on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. The Bradogue River crosses the area in a culvert, and the Royal Canal passes through its northern reaches, n ...
. As the firm grew, it moved to premises nearby at 15 Berkeley Street from 1930. Power executed a wide range of works, including monuments and architectural features in bronze, marble, and stone. Among is notable works are the figure of "Science" designed by Sheppard from the façade of the new
Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from th ...
(later Government Buildings) on Merrion Street, Dublin, carved motifs and sphinxes for the
Gresham Hotel Hotel Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin, formerly The Gresham Hotel, is a historic four-star hotel on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland. It is a Dublin institution and landmark building which was refurbished in the early 2000s. History Hotel foun ...
, O'Connell Street, and 4 statues on the dome of Christ the King church,
Carndonagh Carndonagh (; ) is a town on the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland, close to Trawbreaga Bay. It is the site of the Donagh Cross (or St. Patrick's Cross), believed to date to the 7th century. The Irish name, ''Carn Domhnach'', means ...
. Power was considered the leading Irish sculptor of the 1920s and 1930s. He was an
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
and promoted the use of Irish materials such as limestone from Durrow and
Connemara marble Connemara marble or "Irish green" is a rare variety of marble found in Connemara, Ireland with a distinct green colour. It is commonly used as a gemstone and for decorations. Due to its colouration, it is commonly associated with the Irish identi ...
. He was noted for his
academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
realist style. He exhibited regularly with 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 ...
from 1906, becoming an associate member in 1911, and a full member in 1919. Among those he modelled sculptures for were James Stephens (1913),
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
(1918), and Lord Dunsany (1920). Among his patrons was
Oliver St. John Gogarty Oliver Joseph St. John Gogarty (17 August 1878 – 22 September 1957) was an Irish poet, author, otolaryngologist, athlete, politician, and well-known conversationalist. He served as the inspiration for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce's novel ...
, and through Gogarty Power was commissioned to model a number of prominent Irish nationalists. Gogarty asked Power to carve a portrait of
Terence MacSwiney Terence James MacSwiney (; ga, Toirdhealbhach Mac Suibhne; 28 March 1879 – 25 October 1920) was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920. He ...
in 1920, while MacSwiney was on hunger-strike in
Brixton prison HM Prison Brixton is a local men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner-South London. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History The prison was originally built in 1820 and opened a ...
, London. Smuggled into the prison to do a thumbnail sketch, Power then carved a portrait in the form of a life mask. On Gogarty's recommendation, Power was commissioned by the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...
governments to create portraits of a number of leading politicians including
Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that prod ...
(1922),
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
(1936), and
Austin Stack Augustine Mary Moore Stack (7 December 1879 – 27 April 1929) was an Irish republican and politician who served as Minister for Home Affairs from 1921 to 1922. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1918 to 1927. Early life Stack was born in Ball ...
(1939). He was also privately commissioned to execute a portrait of
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...
in 1944. Among his monumental works were sculptures of
Tom Kettle Thomas Michael Kettle (9 February 1880 – 9 September 1916) was an Irish economist, journalist, barrister, writer, war poet, soldier and Home Rule politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for ...
(1919) at St Stephen's Green, Dublin, Pádraic Ó Conaire (1935) at Eyre Square, Galway, and W. B. Yeats (1939) at Sandymount Green, Dublin. He was one of the artists invited to submit designs for the new coinage of the Irish Free State in 1928.


Death

Power died on 10 July 1945 following complications from a double hernia. His body was buried in
Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...
.


Works

File:W._B._Yeats_by_Albert_Power,_1918_-_Harry_Ransom_Center_-_University_of_Texas_at_Austin_-_DSC08575.jpg, Bust of
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
by Power (1918)
Displayed in the
Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...
, University of Texas at Austin, USA. File:Limerick_(Co._Limerick),_1916_Memorial_(3).jpg, 1916 memorial designed by Power
Erected in
Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
, Ireland File:Connemara Trout by Albert G. Power.jpg, Connemara Trout (1944) by Power, now held in the
National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Albert Irish sculptors 20th-century Irish sculptors Male sculptors 20th-century male artists 1881 births 1945 deaths Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery Irish nationalists