Hot on the heels of acquiring through donation three Una Watters’ paintings, the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI) has hung two of the works in Room 15. The Red Bridge, above and Isabella, below, are two of the three paintings recently donated and they now hang side by side.
For the time being, Girl Going by Trinity in the Rain, (1959), which has been on display since 2023 in the same room and become a firm favourite with gallery patrons, has been removed to facilitate the new arrivals. A temporary situation, we hope.
Having four of Una’s works in the national collection, and two on display, is a situation we couldn’t have dreamed about when we started our quest to rehabilitate Una’s reputation way back in 2020.
It means the public has a chance to see the range and versatility of Una’s talent. The Red Bridge (1956) highlights her Cubist-influenced rendering of landscape, featuring the River Suck in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, where Una and husband Eugene spent their summers. The town and surroundings often featured in her work.
Isabella (also 1956) is a portrait of Eugene’s sister, Isa, and shows another string to Una’s bow – portraiture. There are several portraits among her paintings – one of her husband, featured in her retrospective 2022 show, which, those who knew him say, captures his personality exactly.
There’s also a striking self-portrait which we used for the poster of the 2022 retrospective – an intense work which commands the viewer’s attention with its candour. As a view of the sitter’s back, Isabella may be less forthright, but it manages to create a intriguing sense of mystery.
The last of the trio of paintings donated, Harvest (1965) – a very late work – is not on the walls of the NGI yet, but there are plans to show all of Una’s works together some time in 2027. In the meantime, if you want to see Una in duplicate, now’s the time to visit!
Una Watters (1918-1965) 