There are just a few days remaining to see an exquisitely detailed and delicate pen and ink drawing by Harry Clarke, Ireland’s most celebrated stained-glass artist, at the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
Saint Gobnait, created by Harry Clarke in 1914, is on special loan from the Corning Museum of Glass in New York State. It is on display for a limited time, until Tuesday, 7 May 2024, after which it returns to the USA.
The artwork was the preparatory drawing created by Clarke for his stained-glass window depicting Saint Gobnait in the Honan Chapel in Co Cork.
Dr Audrey Whitty, Director of the National Library of Ireland and a former curator of European and Asian Glass at the Corning Museum, describes the significance of the drawing:
Harry Clarke was a prominent stained-glass artist of the Irish Arts and Crafts movement.
Of the eleven stained glass windows he designed for the Honan Chapel in County Cork, the Saint Gobnait window is his most famous.
The design is considered one of Clarke’s finest works, with imaginative and expressive detail. One panel depicts the patron saint of beekeeping releasing her bees on a thief trying to steal her beehive. Another interesting detail is the white crystal line Gobnait has placed to ward off the plague.
Clarke’s windows in the Honan Chapel were considered masterpieces and established his reputation as an artist. The windows were completed between 1915 and 1917.”
The artwork is on display in conjunction with the new exhibition The Murmur of Bees. It will be on display on Level A of the main exhibition galleries at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, until 7 May 2024 after which it will be replaced with a facsimile copy for the summer period.
The Murmur of Bees continues until summer 2025. Follow the National Museum of Ireland on social media platforms for updates of further bee-inspired artworks going on display later this year as part of the wider exhibition programme.