America’s most prolific 19th century portraitist, whose painting of Abraham Lincoln hangs in the State Dining Room at the White House, was an Irish American born into poverty in Boston. There are more portraits of American presidents hanging in the White House by George Peter Alexander Healy than any other artist, yet amazingly he remains a largely unknown figure to many … [Read more...] about G.P.A. Healy, the Irish Painter of American Presidents
Art
An Irish Artist’s American Odyssey
William James Hinchey traveled throughout America’s Southwest frontier and Missouri capturing images of life, the ravages of war, and beyond. Cormac McCarthy’s novel Blood Meridian (1985) depicts the rough, perilous place that was the American Southwest of the 1840s and ’50s. One of the earliest close-up views of the California-Arizona desert of the period is provided by … [Read more...] about An Irish Artist’s American Odyssey
Ireland’s Watchmaking Revolution
The word “clock,” one of the oldest human inventions, is derived from the Celtic words clagan and clocca, meaning “bell” (clog in modern Irish), so it’s only fitting that the Irish are having a major impact on the world of watchmaking, traditionally dominated by the Swiss. ℘℘℘ There is a revolution happening in Ireland – a horological revolution. Horology is the study of time … [Read more...] about Ireland’s Watchmaking Revolution
The Golden Touch
The most surprising thing about Nigel O’Reilly is not that he looks so young (at least 10 years younger than his actual age) or that he’s creating high-end jewelry out of a small town in Mayo, but the fact that so few people have heard of him. “Yeah, I’ve kind of kept a low profile deliberately,” he laughs. But we get the feeling that’s about to change. After a few years … [Read more...] about The Golden Touch
Beckett Photographs Displayed in New York
An exhibition featuring Dublin-born photographer John Minihan’s black and white portraiture of Samuel Beckett and those he worked with in his lifetime, opened at the Irish Arts Center in New York in September. The exhibition, “John Minihan: Beckett and his World” is on view through December 15. Minihan first expressed interest in photographing Beckett after the playwright won … [Read more...] about Beckett Photographs Displayed in New York