Puck Fair, Killorglin, County Kerry, 1954

Inge Morath , Austrian, 1923-2002

Title

Date2010

MediumArchival pigment print

Dimensions

35 × 23.4 cm

Credit LinePresented, 2021

Object numberNGI.2021.159

DescriptionAustrian-American photographer, Inge Morath began her career working as a translator, journalist and editor before moving on to photography. She began photographing in London in 1951 and joined the newly formed Magnum Photos agency in 1953. She spent much of the 1950s travelling Europe. In 1954, she visited Ireland and photographed the activities of those who attended the Puck Fair in Killorglin, County Kerry. She was particularly taken by the diverse customs, activities and people of Killorglin. She delved into their homes, livelihoods, dress and pastimes. The National Gallery of Ireland acquired eight works, representing the Puck Fair, by Morath in 2019. This series of photographs not only forms an important document of Irish social history, but also sheds light on the Traveller community in Ireland during the 1950s, which is often under-represented in collecting institutions nationally.
Morath always carried two cameras with her: one that shot on black and white film and the other for making colour images. Every time she spotted the colour red in her desired composition, she would shoot in colour. The colour photographs by Morath in the NGI’s collection are some of the only surviving vintage works in colour by the artist.Here, she captures a young girl sitting on the cargo bed of a truck, in which ceramic jugs and jars surround her. Morath also represented this girl in another work in the Gallery’s collection, namely Ireland. Killorglin, County Kerry, Puck Fair (NGI.2019.125), a black and white photograph of two children sitting on the same truck depicted in the work at hand. The young girl sucking on her thumb injects an air of innocence into this vibrant colour photograph- she appears unperturbed by the hustle and bustle of the fair around her.

ProvenanceInge Morath Estate, New York; Clair by Kahn Galerie, Munich; Presented, 2021