The 18th century exhibitions of the Society of Artists have been recreated to mark the restoration of the City Assembly House at South William St. in Dublin. The Irish Georgian Society is marking the re-incarnation of the first purpose built public gallery in Britain and Ireland with a show by artists like Thomas Roberts, Jonathan Fisher, James Forrester, Robert Carver, Robert Healy and Hugh Douglas Hamilton. It includes work first displayed in a series of shows held here between 1766 and 1780.
Exhibiting Art in Georgian Ireland is curated by Dr. Ruth Kenny, formerly assistant curator of British Art 1750-1830 at Tate Britain. She has identified over 80 works that showcase the initial exhibitions by the Society of Artists founded in 1764. They are on loan from National Institutions and private collections.
The restoration of the City Assembly House by the Irish Georgian Society is part of a capital refurbishment project that began in 2013. The work included the reinstatement of the octagonal room built in 1766 as an exhibition space, renamed now as the Knight of Glin exhibition room after the former president of the Society, Desmond FitzGerald. The exhibition opens today and runs to July 29. It is open every day from 10 am to 5 pm.
Portrait of an officer of an irish Volunteer Regiment by John Trotter
Sheet of Water by Thomas Roberts