Una’s Gardens go on loan

Una Watters’ The People’s Gardens (oil on canvas, 40.6 x 50.8 cms), which is part of the Hugh Lane City Gallery collection, has been given on long-term loan to the Mansion House in Dublin. It will hang in the Blue Room (or the Lady Mayoress’s Parlour) in the Mansion House where, traditionally, all the paintings have come from the city’s municipal’s collection at the Hugh Lane.

The outgoing Lord Mayor Councillor Caroline Conroy personally requested the painting before her term ended last month. Ms Conroy, who’s a Green Party councillor, represents the Ballymun and Finglas local electoral area. Perhaps the Finglas connection prompted her choice?

The People’s Gardens dating to 1963 was shown at the following year’s Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition and depicts a slice of Dublin’s public life in the gardens which are part of the Phoenix Park. The Thomas Haverty Trust bought the painting and lent it for Watters’ posthumous retrospective exhibition in 1966. The following year the Trust donated the work to the Hugh Lane.

The Haverty Trust was established following the death of the artist Thomas Haverty who left a sum of money for the purchase of paintings by Irish artists for public galleries and institutions. Between 1935 and 1966, the Trust donated over 40 works to the Hugh Lane including paintings by Swanzy, William Leech, Brigid Ganly and Maurice MacGonigal (who encouraged Watters in her art studies).

As Logan Sisley, Acting Head of Collections at the Hugh Lane, noted in a blog on this site (The People’s Gardens: May 6,2020) the painting is typical of Una’s work with the trees and figures pared down to angular forms. “This shows the influence of earlier modern art movements such as Cubism and Futurism, albeit interpreted in her own style. Her clever use of shadows adds depth – notably under the trees and in the figure of the girl kicking the ball, the man reading a paper and the duck taking off (or landing). These also demonstrate a keen observation of people and an eye for detail. The strong shadows and summer dresses suggest a warm sunny day, yet the elderly couple walking arm-in-arm on the path are still dressed in heavy coats and hats.” (See also The Gardens Revisited: April 12, 2022)

In concert with the recent acquisition of Girl Going by Trinity in the Rain (1959) by the National Gallery and now on public view in Room 15, it is very heartening to see Una’s work on show after many years in the stacks at the Hugh Lane.

The painting hasn’t been shown in Parnell Square since the 1970s although, according to gallery records, it was on loan to the City Hall between 1969 and 1974 and again in the 1980s. It was also hung in the ILAC Centre Library in 1987 along with a number of other works from the Hugh Lane, including Harry Kernoff, John Leech and Lizzie Stephens, all of them depicting scenes of Dublin.

However, the painting’s new home although public is limited in its access. The Mansion House is open to the public annually as part of the Culture Night and Open House initiatives and occasionally for open days but it’s not possible to walk in off the street and view the work. However, group tours of the Mansion House can be arranged by contacting the Office of the Lord Mayor at lordmayor@dublincity.ie.

Perhaps it’s time for a tour by Una Watters’ groupies?

The Blue Room: Photograph: Conor McCabe