Hugh Lane Centenary Print Collection

“A Gallery of Modern Art for Ireland is no longer a desire, it is now an accomplished fact”. So wrote Hugh Lane. Almost single-handedly he brought to the fore a new appreciation and awareness of modern art in Ireland at the beginning of the 20^th century with the establishment of The Municipal Gallery of Modern Art in January 1908. It was one of the most significant cultural events in Modern Irish history and a phenomenal achievement for the young Irishman who was thirty two years old. Three hundred works went on exhibition. The new Gallery for Dublin and Hugh Lane’s philanthropy was, according to Le Figaro newspaper, ”……the envy of the most prosperous states and proudest cities and then to give this treasure gathered with so much effort and care to the town that one loves – that is the ultimate gesture of this ingenious man”. Seven years later Hugh Lane was dead, drowned aboard the Lusitania in 1915 but his legacy lives on.

A century later the Gallery founded by Hugh Lane is renowned for its collection of Modern and Contemporary art. The Gallery now houses over 2,000 works, and continues to celebrate contemporary practice through acquisitions and temporary exhibitions. By doing so it honours Hugh Lane’s ethos of supporting and encouraging contemporary practice. As he said ..”for it is one’s contemporaries that teach one the most” .

In acknowledgement of that legacy, we invited thirteen artists to make a print collection for our centenary. For the first time ever this opus brings together these artists’ radically different practices. It also illuminates the diversity of the concerns of artists today as well as celebrating their singular talents. It is a unique project and one which will not be again realised in our lifetime. The resulting prints are exceptional, the result of the deep commitment each of the artists gave to the project. The works are a lasting tribute to Hugh Lane who helped shape the national consciousness and one hundred years ago this year provided the first ever public museum dedicated to modern art.

A unique collaboration between Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane and Dorothy Cross, Willie Doherty, Barry Flanagan and Keith Milow, Louis le Brocquy, Ciarán Lennon, Anne Madden, Elizabeth Magill, Brian Maguire, Brian O’Doherty, Kathy Prendergast, Patrick Scott, Sean Scully and Seán Shanahan.