Hughie O'Donoghue RA, 1953 | Abstract Expressionism painter

Hughie O’Donoghue RA was born in Manchester, England but much of his work is influenced by time spent in his mother’s place of origin, the remote Barony of Erris in Co Mayo, Ireland.

His paintings explore themes of universal human experience, often on an epic scale, they meditate on ideas of truth and the relationship between memory and identity, drawing on history and personal records to create works which resonate with emotional intensity.

O’Donoghue was elected as a Royal Academician in the category of Painting in 2009.

He completed an MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths in 1982 and was Artist in Residence at the National Gallery, London from 1984-85.

History of Poetry

Poetry is one of the oldest forms of human expression, predating literacy and evolving from oral traditions used to preserve history, genealogy and law.

The word "poet" originates from the Greek poiētēs, meaning "maker".

The Echo in the Cave

The first voice wasn't a voice at all, not really.

It was a rhythm.

In the dim coolness of a limestone cave, millennia ago, Elara, a woman of the Clan of the Whispering Winds, beat a steady pulse on a stretched animal skin.

Enheduanna's head - celebrated as the earliest known named Author in world history | Morgan Library / The Penn Museum

Chicago Armory Show of 1913

The Armory Show of 1913, formally titled the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a landmark event organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors that introduced modern European art to American audiences on a massive scale.

Held from February 17 to March 15 at New York City's 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue, it later traveled to Chicago and Boston, drawing huge crowds and sparking intense debate about the nature of art.

Vincent van Gogh | Two Peasant Women Digging in Field with Snow, 1890

Irish Art History and Sitemap

The history of Irish art starts around 3200 BC with Neolithic stone carvings at the Newgrange megalithic tomb, part of the Brú na Bóinne complex which still stands today, County Meath.

In early-Bronze Age Ireland there is evidence of Beaker culture and a widespread metalworking.

Trade-links with Britain and Northern Europe introduced La Tène culture and Celtic art to Ireland by about 300 BC, but while these styles later changed or disappeared under the Roman subjugation, Ireland was left alone to develop Celtic designs: notably Celtic crosses, spiral designs, and the intricate interlaced patterns of Celtic knotwork.

Marc Chagall | Les Offrandes, 1958

In his address delivered at the inauguration on 7 July 1973 - his 86th birthday - of the Musée national message biblique Marc Chagall in Nice, the artist described the meaning he found in Biblical stories:

“It has always seemed to me and still seems today the greatest source of poetry of all time.

Ever since then, I have searched for its reflection in life and in Art.

The Bible is like an echo of nature and this is the secret I have tried to convey”

- (quoted in J. Baal-Teshuva, ed., Chagall, A Retrospective, New York, 1995, p. 295).