The establishment of a new museum to celebrate the work of the internationally renowned stained-glass artist Harry Clarke (1889–1931) was given the green light in July
The establishment of a new museum to celebrate the work of the internationally renowned stained-glass artist Harry Clarke (1889–1931) was given the green light in July by members of the Strategic Policy Committee of Dublin City Council.
The new tourist attraction in the north inner city, at 18 Parnell Square North, is a terraced, four-bay, four-storey-over-basement Georgian building that Fáilte Ireland has offered to Dublin City Council for a nominal sum, on condition that it is used for tourism. It is considered that Clarke’s legacy deserves full recognition by the city of his birth.
The development of this museum, dedicated to Harry Clarke, will include other Irish stained-glass artists of international repute, who also exported their work worldwide. The museum celebrates a unique and vital part of the city’s cultural, artistic and manufacturing history and heritage. Dublin stained-glass artists like Harry Clarke and members of An Túr Gloine such as Wilhelmina Geddes, Evie Hone and Michael Healy excelled in the medium, making Dublin one of the most significant producers of stained-glass windows in Europe.
The Harry Clarke Museum of Irish Stained Glass will feature windows, drawings, book illustrations and archival material by Clarke and others, with examples of groundbreaking stained-glass creations. It plans to build its collection through acquisitions and long-term loans. Visitors can enjoy and gain a deeper understanding of stained glass and the processes involved in its production.
The museum will be continuously enlivened by temporary exhibitions and contemporary responses to Harry Clarke. It will offer an exciting, dynamic and multifaceted exhibition programme and collaborate with other arts institutions, such as the nearby Hugh Lane Gallery, the National Gallery of Ireland and the National Library of Ireland in Dublin and the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork. The museum promises to be a significant addition to the Parnell Square Cultural Quarter development project.
Margarita Cappock
Image: Harry Clarke (1889–1931), detail from the Geneva Window 1930, stained glass 181.6 x 101.6cm, The Playboy of the Western World by John Milton Synge, Collection Wolfsonian Museum, Miami, Florida
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