Maeve McCarthy, Irish, b.1964
Title: Portrait of Maeve Binchy (1940-2012), Writer
Date: 2005
Medium: Oil on board
Signed: left: MAEVE McCARTHY MAY 2005
Credit Line: Commissioned, National Gallery of Ireland, as part of the Irish Life and Permanent Portrait Series, 2005
Object Number: NGI.4752
DescriptionAmong Maeve Binchy's most popular novels are Light a Penny Candle; Echoes; Firefly Summer; Silver Wedding; Circle of Friends (made into a film starring Minnie Driver and Chris O'Donnell) and Tara Road (an Oprah Book Club selection and film). Born and educated in Dublin, she first wrote for The Irish Times in 1969 and lives with her husband, Gordon Snell, in Dublin. In this portrait, Binchy sits in her converted attic-workroom, surrounded by pictures, books, photos and memorabilia, many of them gifts. Her husband appears in the background, sitting outside, reading The Irish Times. The artist Maeve McCarthy (b. Dublin 1964) received a BA Fine Art degree from the National College of Art, Dublin in 1989. Her first solo exhibitions were in Bluff, Utah and Durango, Colorado. She is currently based in Dublin.
Her self-portraits have won many awards including the prestigious BP Award, at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Her self-portraits have won many awards including the prestigious BP Award, at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Label TextAdmired and loved in equal measure, Maeve Binchy was one of Ireland’s most successful writers. Born and educated in Dublin, she wrote for many years for the Irish Times and published in various genres. She was best-known for her novels, which include Light a Penny Candle, Circle of Friends, Tara Road and Minding Frankie. In this portrait, she appears in the converted attic-workroom of her Dalkey home, surrounded by pictures, books, photos and memorabilia, many of them gifts. Her husband Gordon Snell, also an author, features in the background, his head buried in a newspaper.