Gerard Dillon Aran Islanders
Gerard Dillon
1916 – 1971
Aran Islanders
signed G. Dillon (lower right); also signed Gerard Dillon and titled on the reverse
oil on board
unframed: 54 by 39.5 cm.; 21 ¼ by 15 ½ in.
framed: 76.5 by 61.5 cm.; 30 by 24 ¼ in.
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Gerard Dillon
1916 – 1971
Aran Islanders
signé G. Dillon (en bas à droite); aussi signé Gerard Dillon et titré au revers
huile sur carton
sans cadre: 54 by 39.5 cm.; 21 ¼ by 15 ½ in.
avec cadre: 76.5 by 61.5 cm.; 30 by 24 ¼ in.
Condition Report:
The board appears to be sound, but is slightly bowed and undulates in places in keeping with the artist’s materials. There is some rubbing and rounding to the extreme edges and corners. There are some tiny nicks to the edges in places. There are some very faint creases to the board in places. There is some fine craquelure to the male figures vest. The work appears to be in very good overall condition. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals fine lines of retouching in the upper right corner, by the left hand figure’s proper right hand, and in the extreme upper left corner. The work is held in a carved wooden frame.
Catalogue Note:
In 1946 Reeves Lowenthal, Director of the Associated American Artists (AAA) travelled to Europe to purchase paintings by over 187 European artists for future rota exhibitions for their galleries in America. His objective was to make contemporary European art available to the American public. While in Dublin, he visited Victor Waddington’s South Anne Street gallery where he purchased a number of paintings by Irish artists.
A label on the reverse of Aran Islanders suggests this painting was exhibited in the exhibition Contemporary Irish Painting in the Associated American Artists galleries, New York in March, 1947. Although the painting is not listed in the New York catalogue, it may have been kept in stock for the duration of the show. Paintings later travelled to the AAA galleries in Chicago, Ottawa and California under different exhibition titles. We know from a press cutting, Aran Islanders was exhibited in California as it was illustrated in the Los Angeles Times, (7 December, 1947, p.26) to promote AAA’s first International Art Exhibition in their new premises at 9916 Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles in December, 1947.
Gerard Dillon made his first visit to Aran in 1944 and this work dates from this visit when he became enthralled by the Island’s rich culture and the traditional dress style of the Aran Islands. Brought up in the red brick Industrial city of Belfast, the rocky landscape and islanders independent lives contrasted with his familiar urban life. The Islanders were hardy, self- sufficient, and untouched by the outside world.
This painting captures a pair of young islanders barefoot in their traditional Aran dress. The young girl is wearing a traditional red skirt, or cotaí as they were called and were generally made from flannel or fleainín, of heavy woollen tweed woven locally and often contained a width of 4-5 metres of material. Her shoulder shawl of woollen weave was typically crocheted or knitted and worn by folding it into a triangular shape which was placed over the shoulders and across the breast. In stormy weather, it acted as protection against the rain.
The fair headed male is wearing a bástchóta, or waistcoat made from white flannel over loose trousers secured around the waist with a colourful woven Aran belt called a crios. The white washed cottages in the background and the basket of turf suggest the young man is returning home from the quays where turf had already been delivered from the mainland. As there was no turf on Aran it was imported from Connemara by a Galway hooker and deposited on the quays by the boatmen and transported home by pony and cart or as seen here in a shoulder wicker basket.
Reeves Lewenthal wrote in the 1947 New York catalogue, "When in Ireland last summer, I was impressed by the generic quality and native sensitivity of the Irish painters. They paint with poignant consciousness of the Ireland today and with affection for Ireland's traditions and its soil.”
Karen Reihill, April, 2024
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En 1946, Reeves Lowenthal, directeur de l'Associated American Artists (AAA), s'est rendu en Europe pour acheter des œuvres de plus de 187 artistes européens pour de futures expositions itinérantes dans leurs galeries en les États Unis. Son objectif était de rendre l'art contemporain européen accessible au public américain. À Dublin, il a visité la galerie South Anne Street de Victor Waddington où il a acheté un certain nombre de peintures d’artistes irlandais.
Une étiquette au revers des Aran Islanders suggère que ce tableau a été exposé dans le cadre de l'exposition Contemporary Irish Painting dans les galeries Associated American Artists, à New York, en mars 1947. Bien que le tableau ne soit pas répertorié dans le catalogue de New...
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Gerard Dillon
1916 – 1971
Aran Islanders
signed G. Dillon (lower right); also signed Gerard Dillon and titled on the reverse
oil on board
unframed: 54 by 39.5 cm.; 21 ¼ by 15 ½ in.
framed: 76.5 by 61.5 cm.; 30 by 24 ¼ in.
---------------------------------------------------
Gerard Dillon
1916 – 1971
Aran Islanders
signé G. Dillon (en bas à droite); aussi signé Gerard Dillon et titré au revers
huile sur carton
sans cadre: 54 by 39.5 cm.; 21 ¼ by 15 ½ in.
avec cadre: 76.5 by 61.5 cm.; 30 by 24 ¼ in.
Condition Report:
The board appears to be sound, but is slightly bowed and undulates in places in keeping with the artist’s materials. There is some rubbing and rounding to the extreme edges and corners. There are some tiny nicks to the edges in places. There are some very faint creases to the board in places. There is some fine craquelure to the male figures vest. The work appears to be in very good overall condition. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals fine lines of retouching in the upper right corner, by the left hand figure’s proper right hand, and in the extreme upper left corner. The work is held in a carved wooden frame.
Catalogue Note:
In 1946 Reeves Lowenthal, Director of the Associated American Artists (AAA) travelled to Europe to purchase paintings by over 187 European artists for future rota exhibitions for their galleries in America. His objective was to make contemporary European art available to the American public. While in Dublin, he visited Victor Waddington’s South Anne Street gallery where he purchased a number of paintings by Irish artists.
A label on the reverse of Aran Islanders suggests this painting was exhibited in the exhibition Contemporary Irish Painting in the Associated American Artists galleries, New York in March, 1947. Although the painting is not listed in the New York catalogue, it may have been kept in stock for the duration of the show. Paintings later travelled to the AAA galleries in Chicago, Ottawa and California under different exhibition titles. We know from a press cutting, Aran Islanders was exhibited in California as it was illustrated in the Los Angeles Times, (7 December, 1947, p.26) to promote AAA’s first International Art Exhibition in their new premises at 9916 Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles in December, 1947.
Gerard Dillon made his first visit to Aran in 1944 and this work dates from this visit when he became enthralled by the Island’s rich culture and the traditional dress style of the Aran Islands. Brought up in the red brick Industrial city of Belfast, the rocky landscape and islanders independent lives contrasted with his familiar urban life. The Islanders were hardy, self- sufficient, and untouched by the outside world.
This painting captures a pair of young islanders barefoot in their traditional Aran dress. The young girl is wearing a traditional red skirt, or cotaí as they were called and were generally made from flannel or fleainín, of heavy woollen tweed woven locally and often contained a width of 4-5 metres of material. Her shoulder shawl of woollen weave was typically crocheted or knitted and worn by folding it into a triangular shape which was placed over the shoulders and across the breast. In stormy weather, it acted as protection against the rain.
The fair headed male is wearing a bástchóta, or waistcoat made from white flannel over loose trousers secured around the waist with a colourful woven Aran belt called a crios. The white washed cottages in the background and the basket of turf suggest the young man is returning home from the quays where turf had already been delivered from the mainland. As there was no turf on Aran it was imported from Connemara by a Galway hooker and deposited on the quays by the boatmen and transported home by pony and cart or as seen here in a shoulder wicker basket.
Reeves Lewenthal wrote in the 1947 New York catalogue, "When in Ireland last summer, I was impressed by the generic quality and native sensitivity of the Irish painters. They paint with poignant consciousness of the Ireland today and with affection for Ireland's traditions and its soil.”
Karen Reihill, April, 2024
--------------------------------------------------------------------
En 1946, Reeves Lowenthal, directeur de l'Associated American Artists (AAA), s'est rendu en Europe pour acheter des œuvres de plus de 187 artistes européens pour de futures expositions itinérantes dans leurs galeries en les États Unis. Son objectif était de rendre l'art contemporain européen accessible au public américain. À Dublin, il a visité la galerie South Anne Street de Victor Waddington où il a acheté un certain nombre de peintures d’artistes irlandais.
Une étiquette au revers des Aran Islanders suggère que ce tableau a été exposé dans le cadre de l'exposition Contemporary Irish Painting dans les galeries Associated American Artists, à New York, en mars 1947. Bien que le tableau ne soit pas répertorié dans le catalogue de New...
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Time, Location
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