THE annual Turner watercolour exhibition is now underway and with major exhibitions focussed on Picasso, Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone it is going to be an exciting year at the National Gallery of Ireland. We will have to wait until October for Picasso: From the Studio, a monographic exhibition in collaboration with the Musée Picasso national-Paris.
Picasso lived surrounded by his art. His personal life and his work, his homes and his studios were always intimately linked. This exhibition places Picasso in the context of his studios, highlighting the various facets and phases of his art and life. It will explore the key locations that defined him, from his arrival in Paris at the start of the twentieth century to his studio in Villa La Californie (1955-1961) in Cannes. Featuring paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and works on paper, as well as photographic and audio-visual works the exhibition will run from October 11 to February 22, 2026.
Mainie Jellett & Evie Hone – The Art of Friendship from April 10 to August 10 will bring together 90 works from these pioneering Irish modernist women artists. The exhibition will highlight the early convergences and later divergences in their styles as they developed distinct artistic voices. Featuring paintings, stained glass, and preparatory drawings, it reveals how both women were trailblazers in Irish art although remaining connected to conventional themes such as religion and landscape.
Ludovico Mazzolino – The Crossing of the Red Sea Photo, National Gallery of Ireland
Among many more events at the Gallery is the display of Ludovico Mazzolino’s masterpiece The Crossing of the Red Sea (1521). On display from February 15 to July 6 it celebrates the conservation and re-display of a rarely seen work. Supported by a grant from the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund, the painting has undergone extensive scientific analysis and conservation, revealing its remarkable detail and historical significance. Mazzolino, who worked extensively for the D’Este rulers of Renaissance Ferrara, is best known for his small- scale paintings.
Meantime the annual Turner extravaganza at the National Gallery comes with a new twist in 2025 with an exciting exchange with the National Galleries of Scotland. Both institutions benefitted from the bequest of the wealthy English collector Henry Vaughan. The 38 Vaughan Bequest Turner watercolours which he bequeathed to Scotland are now on display in Dublin. Ireland’s Turner collection are being showcased this month at the Royal Scottish Academy Building in Edinburgh.
Visitors have an opportunity to see and appreciate a new selection of these masterful watercolours in the annual January show of 2025.The works on loan range from his detailed topographical views of the 1790s to the vibrant and expressive watercolours of Venice and the Alps that highlight his innovative techniques. The exchange, very much in the spirit of Vaughan’s bequest, comes after many years of discussion and planning by the two institutions.
Bequeathed in 1900 the Turner watercolours have been displayed every year since 1901 with the notable exception of the pandemic year of 2021. It was a stipulation of the bequest that the delicate watercolours be displayed only in January, when the natural light is at its lowest. Turner’s Watercolours: Scotland’s Vaughan Bequest runs until January 31 and is supported by Grant Thornton.
