This Event was initiated by Anthony Fox and Leanne Willars of the New Theatre and evolved in the course of discussions with Jack Harte, Pat Pidgeon, and Paul Tuthill. The concept of presenting an artist’s work in the confines of the small theatre space seemed daunting at first, but as the discussions progressed, the problems seemed not only superable but also exciting. As the artist was in life, so his paintings have remained in the half century since his premature death – on the outside, challenging, admired, but never embraced and cherished as they should have been. Many posthumous exhibitions of his work, some big and some small, have kept reminding the public of this half-overlooked artist. And this is yet another wake-up call. This is an artist who rewards with aesthetic satisfaction and intellectual stimulation any perusal of his work.
The Event consists of three elements, the presentation of some of his work on the walls of the theatre, a screen presentation of more of his work, and a catalogue which is being published as a book by Scotus Press to ensure more widespread dissemination.
The creative team:
For The New Theatre
Anthony Fox
Leanne Willars
Art Agent
Paul Tuthill
For Scotus Press
Pat Pidgeon
Jack Harte
Lighting design
Cathy O’Carroll
Visuals
Eoin Murphy
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank all those who have helped the development of this Event, and especially the following who have lent paintings for exhibition or photographs for inclusion in the book or the screen presentation:
Des Mellon
Thomas Wade
Paul Tuthill
Pat Pidgeon
Jack Harte
Celia de Fréine
Sorley McCaughey
Fred Lahiff
And we wish to acknowledge the generous sponsorship of our publication by Morgan O’Driscoll, Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers.
