As one of Ireland’s oldest working artists, Thomas Ryan has captured everyone from Sinéad O’Connor as a young girl to former Taoiseach Éamon de Valera with his inimitable style.
But the academic oil painter has long been a favourite among Ireland’s agriculturalists and one of his trademarks was painting a single rose in full bloom every year.
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His dreamy depictions of the Victorian glass houses in the National Botanical Gardens have now become collectors’ items and reveal his fondness for the natural world.
He also had a huge interest in Irish political life and his painting of the first sitting of Dáil Éireann in the Mansion House in 1919 was later used to illustrate a postage stamp.
Ryan was also renowned for his depiction of the funeral of Roger Casement after his repatriation to Ireland in 1965.
Having turned 90 last month, tribute will now be paid to the esteemed painter in his home town of Limerick on November 5 as they welcome back one of the city’s most famous cultural icons with open arms.
He now lives in Meath and it’s understood he continues to paint despite his milestone birthday.
The People’s Museum of Limerick, opened earlier this month by Senator David Norris, will form the venue for a special exhibition showing the artist’s huge range of subjects.
On show will be a selection of his most famous works, including ‘The GPO 1916’, which hung for more than 20 years in Leinster House.
Bringing together an exhibition of 40 paintings, museum curator Dr Rose Anne White described him as “one of Ireland’s most significant artists”.
She said they were incredibly grateful to be able to show a selection of his works in their Pery Square venue, remaking on his “versatility across portraits, still life and historical scenes”.
“We are delighted that Thomas will launch the exhibition on November 5 to tell us the story behind some of his most famous works and so we can celebrate his 90th birthday in his home city,” she said.
Born in Davis Street in Limerick City, he showed huge promise from an early age and studied at the School of Art in the 1940s before winning a scholarship to the National College of Art in Dublin. He honed his craft there while studying under two prestigious artists, namely Seán Keating and Maurice MacGonigal.
In 1971, he became a member of the RHA and in 1982 was elected president, a position that he held for 10 years.
While working there, he set his sights on expanding the space and was instrumental in the extension of the gallery on Ely Place.
His influence also extended abroad given that he became an honorary member of the Royal Academy in London and Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh.
He was elected president of the United Arts Club in Dublin in 1990 but tribute has been paid to him by his home city.
Ryan was made a freeman of the city of Limerick in 2007 and received an honorary doctor of literature at University of Limerick.
Naomi O’Nolan, head of collections and exhibitions at the Hunt Museum in Limerick described him as a “true patron of the arts”.
He did four portraits of the museum founder John Hunt with his wife Gertrude and their two children, which hang there to this day.
“He was not a fan of abstract art. He liked to paint in the traditional sense but he was a very skilled artist in his drawings and paintings and perspectives,” Ms O’Nolan said.
“He liked painting still-lifes, interiors and historical figures so his subject matter was very, very broad and seems to have a general appeal and people don’t tire of that type of art.
“He contributed hugely to the development of the art scene in Ireland and has been attached to countless art organisations.
“In Limerick, where he came from, he never forgot his roots. He was president of the Limerick Art Society and used to give talks and give them great advice, without asking for any payment in return.
“He was commissioned to do many portraits of prominent people and former Taoisigh. His work is in many collections in Ireland because it is art that stands the test of time. It is art that will endure.”
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