Over the last few months, RTÉ, Mike Murphy and Yellow Asylum Films have been visiting public galleries and public collections to get to know the many beautiful and important artworks that are on view, or held by these collections for the benefit of the people of Ireland. The team talked to curators and other experts and asked them to nominate their favourite paintings. They also asked the Irish public, through Today with Pat Kenny on RTÉ Radio 1 and rte.ie, to nominate their favourite painting(s) in any public collection of art in the country. From that, a long-list of 100 paintings was compiled.
In early February, a group of respected art professionals – Gemma Tipton, Peter Cherry, Oliver Dowling and Robert O’Byrne – chaired by Mike Murphy gathered to reduce this inspiring long-list to a shortlist of ten. They were joined in this by Ireland’s First Lady, Sabina Higgins. The ten paintings can be viewed on the RTE website and the public can vote for their favourite. Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane has two paintings from the collection featured in the shortlist, Harry Clarke’s Stained Glass window, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Sean Scully’s Wall of Light Orange Yellow.
