Sarah Cecilia Harrison (1863-1941): her art and politics, a critical examination
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2024Author:
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2029-03-14Citation:
Baker, Hannah Joanne, Sarah Cecilia Harrison (1863-1941): her art and politics, a critical examination, Trinity College Dublin, School of Histories & Humanities, History Of Art, 2024Download Item:
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Abstract:
This thesis critically assesses Sarah Cecilia Harrison (1863-1941) as an artist, a political activist and a social and cultural campaigner. In each of these roles she was an instigator rather than follower. The account analyses her family background and the impact of same on her personality and career, including her social networks in London and Dublin, her suffrage activism, her philanthropic work, and her role as Dublin?s first female city councillor. It uncovers her unique contribution to the development of social reform in Dublin and her place as an influential figure within cultural networks that spanned both Dublin and London.
The study provides a formal and contextual analysis of Harrison as an artist, including her training at the Slade School of Fine Art and how she established her practice in London before moving to Dublin in 1904, where she continued to paint. It examines Harrison?s use of traditional techniques and how and why her work differed from others working in Dublin at the beginning of the twentieth century, a period when many contemporary Irish and British artists were looking to modern movements in Europe. It also suggests that her place as an artistic outlier is one reason for the lack of art historical writing on, or appreciation for, Harrison?s work. Another was because she did not follow the popular artistic themes of the period, such as the west of Ireland landscapes, which had become a symbol of Irish revivalist nationalism.
Furthermore, this thesis critically assesses Harrison?s role in promoting the visual arts. This includes the establishment of the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art (MGMA) as well as other visual arts projects and exhibitions in both Dublin and London. This thesis documents and examines Harrison?s role as the de facto leader of the MGMA project in Dublin before 1915, an omission from extant accounts.
In addition, it provides an analysis of Harrison?s life after the death of Lane in May 1915. This research presents new insights into her much maligned campaign for the return of Lane?s bequest of thirty-nine paintings to the MGMA, that had been bequeathed to the National Gallery in London. It examines these events with the understanding that the independent actions taken by Harrison led to her dismissal by other leading contemporary figures in Irish cultural life, not least Hugh Lane?s aunt, Lady Gregory. Accounts controlled by Gregory and others, have directed the narrative since, to the detriment of Harrison?s legacy, as she has been side-lined in present day historical and art historical texts.
Referencing feminist and gender theory, the thesis provides a new critical and nuanced assessment of Harrison as an artist, and as a cultural, social, and political campaigner and reformer, and why this gifted individual has been neglected to date.
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Author: Baker, Hannah Joanne
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Griffith, AngelaPublisher:
Trinity College Dublin. School of Histories & Humanities. Discipline of History Of ArtType of material:
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