Fionnuala Croke charts the formation of the remarkable Chester Beatty collection of Japanese printed works
After more than half a century in the international world of mining, Chester Beatty (1875–1968) decided to hand over the reins of his mining company, Selection Trust, to his son in 1950. In typical Beatty style, he embraced retirement, just as he had every opportunity that came his way in the previous seventy-five years. Surprisingly, even to those closest to him in London, he moved to Dublin and set about realising his new ambition – to build a museum to house his extraordinary collection of art. Just three years later, the Chester Beatty Library on Shrewsbury Road was complete. The following year, the library opened one day a week to the general public. Beatty hoped to encourage a wider appreciation of art and culture ‘especially among the growing generation’.
Marcel Vidal finds that a thread of instability runs through Freida Breen’s sculptural practice
Julian Walton and William Fraher explore the magnificent Curraghmore House in County Waterford, where, three hundred years ago, the union of two families produced the most powerful dynasty in late Georgian Ireland