Ireland's collectors: a historical perspective: collecting in Ireland today is often depicted solely as the pursuit by the nouveaux riches of trophy canvases by Jack B. Yeats. Yet, as William Laffan describes in this detailed analysis of contemporary Irish collectors, some remarkable and little-known collections of international significance are being formed, eclipsing even those of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy

Apollo, Sept, 2004 by William Laffan

While most Irish collectors have focused their attention on Irish art, there are exceptions. Dr Anthony O'Reilly has acquired works by artists such as Monet, and word filtering out of Tipperary suggests that John Magnier, owner of Ireland's biggest stud farm, has supplemented his collections of Irish and sporting art with works by European masters, including Modigliani. Widely rumoured to have been the purchaser in 2001 of Reynolds's Omai, he was listed as one of the world's top ten collectors in a recent ART News survey.

However, by far the most knowledgeable and passionate collectors of contemporary international art are Joe and Marie Donnelly, in whose purpose-built gallery overlooking Killiney Bay in County Dublin hang highly significant works by such artists as Picasso, De Kooning and Baselitz, as well as an acute portrait of Mrs Donnelly by Francesco Clemente. In addition, the Donnellys are patrons of younger artists, such as Gary Hume and Sarah Lucas, while Mrs Donnelly served as an inspirational chair of the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Joe Donnelly's greatest love is twentieth-century design and the decorative arts, on which he is an acknowledged authority. He has put together a remarkable collection of works by such designers as Carlo Mollino, Charlotte Perriand and (the one great Irish modernist) Eileen Gray. Mostly displayed in their properties overseas, the collection also strongly features twentieth-century tableware and (a particular favourite) light fittings, of which there over a hundred, by designers such as Jacques Chevalier. Although admitting a preference for the sleek line of modernist design, the Donnellys are not limited by date, as their recent acquisition of Chinese antiquities and an important Charles II mirror attests.

Although the Donnellys are among only a tiny handful of Irish collectors to collect international modern art seriously, their example has begun to be followed by collectors of a younger generation. There has long been a thriving consumption of art by the Irish middle class. However, the commercial contemporary scene in Dublin is still dominated by a predominance of unadventurous and sentimental sub-abstract expressionism; the annual exhibitions of the Royal Hibernian Academy are even more conservative, while the Graham Knuttel industry remains a mystery to outsiders. New buyers are seeking something more adventurous. A few years ago, for example, Deirdre Conroy of Archive Consultants met with great enthusiasm while selling works by artists such as Warhol, Christo and Keith Haring to private clients, many of whom had previously bought only Irish works; some Dublin galleries, such as the Kerlin and the Rubicon (Fig. 6), offer more adventurous fare.

[FIGURE 6 OMITTED]

There are certainly problems for Irish collectors of contemporary art who focus solely on native artists. There are just not enough significant Irish artists working at the moment. In particular, there are not enough artists working in a specific medium or field to avoid a certain 'pick and mix' (not to say parochial) feel if the sole grounds for collecting is the artist's nationality. Internationally, collectors tend to focus on one area of the ever broadening realm of contemporary art, be it figurative painting or video art. Combining these strands to form a coherent collection in which the place of each work has a logical justification needs a careful eye and much thought. (16)