Sruthan Pier by Charles Lamb (click on image to enlarge).
In Northern Ireland Adams Clandeboye features a Charles Lamb in Connemara exhibition at the Ava Gallery, Clandeboye, Co. Down from today until February 25. There are 38 works on loan from collections and the artist’s family. Lamb was one of that group of Irish artists who, in the 1920’s and 30’s, found their inspiration in the life and in the landscape of the West of Ireland. He is said to have depicted practically every mood and facet of the Connemara scene. Work on display – from the iconic ‘Hearing the News’ to the impactful harbour scene of ‘Sruthan Pier’ together with portraits of interesting quirky local characters, for example, ‘Turf Cutter’ – demonstrate this range. Born in Portadown this is the first major Lamb exhibition in Northern Ireland since his death in 1964.
Adam’s David Britton said: “This is a wonderful exhibition that not only conveys Lamb’s love of Connemara but also a great sense of nostalgia for Ireland’s past and its simple traditions. Connemara in the 1930s and 40s was relatively untouched by the advances of modern society, with few people able to speak English, communities relying on self-provisioning and basic methods of transport, mainly by boat or horse drawn cart. Lamb was a well-known character in Carraroe, where he lived from the 1930s onwards, having built his own house there, and where for many years he ran a summer school.’
Charles Lamb, The Turf Cutter (click to enlarge).
Charles Lamb, Reading the News at Ava Gallery, Clandeboye. (Click to enlarge).