#OTD in 1816 – Birth of painter, Sir Frederick Burton, in Corofin, Co Clare.

08/04/2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Born in Co Clare, Frederic William Burton moved to London as a young man to make his living as a watercolour painter. His painting, ‘The Meeting on the Turret Stairs’ was voted Ireland’s favourite painting in 2012. Painting is on view at the National Gallery of Ireland | Merrion Square West, Dublin 2, Ireland SaveSave

#OTD in 1874 – Irish painter, Frederic Burton, was appointed director of the National Gallery, London, and began an unprecedented programme of art collection.

20/02/2019.Reading time 1 minute.

As Director of the National Gallery, London, Burton bought over 500 works, many of them masterpieces by Botticelli, Canaletto, van Dyck and Leonardo da Vinci, creating possibly the finest art collection in the world. Burton’s painting, ‘Meeting on the Turret Stairs’ was voted by the Irish public as Ireland’s favourite painting in 2012 from among […]

#OTD in 1924 – The first Olympic medal won by the Irish Free State was a silver medal, awarded to Jack Butler Yeats for his 1923 painting The Liffey Swim.

04/05/2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Between 1912 and 1948 the arts took pride of place alongside sporting events in the Olympic Games. The arts section was broken down into five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. Ultimately the fledgling Irish State only took home two medals from the 1924 Olympic Games. Both of these were from the arts categories: […]