Richard King, Irish, 1907-1974
Title: Holy Family with Flight into Egypt
Date: c.1950
Medium: Graphite/charcoal on paper
Dimensions:
46 x 40.5 cm
Credit Line: Presented, 2019
Object Number: NGI.2019.5.1
DescriptionKing dedicated most of his output to liturgical art. Through religious imagery he sought to interpret the mysteries of the Catholic faith in a manner appropriate for churches and convents in the twentieth century. In the 1993 NGI board note for the acquisition of King’s cartoons for his windows in the St Thomas More Chapel in Western Australia Dr Brian P. Kennedy wrote: Richard King was an important artist whose work encapsulates much of the spirit of independent Ireland during its first three decades. His large output was primarily Church-related and represents the extent and the limits of innovation with that genre. He was a good stained glass artist, an excellent colourist, strong on composition. These works (NGI.2019.1-5) reveal aspects of King’s unique contribution to religious art in Ireland. The cartoons and designs for the Boston College windows were lent to the exhibition ‘Making it Irish’, an Irish Arts and Crafts exhibition held at the McMullan Museum of Art in Boston College in 2016, and are illustrated in the exhibition catalogue.
