A grant from the Friends of the National Collections of Ireland has assisted Limerick City Gallery of Art to acquire a very fine portrait of the Limerick – born poet, Michael Hartnett, by Edward McGuire.
Michael Hartnett (1941-1999) came from Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, and wrote his much admired poetry in English and (for several years, exclusively) in Irish. His work gained awards on both sides of the Atlantic, and Seamus Heaney called him ‘one of the truest, most tested and beloved voices in Irish poetry in our time.’
Painted by Edward McGuire RHA, the present work, which hints at the poet’s vulnerability below the surface, was done in 1971, and has a lapwing. It was to be auctioned at Adam’s, Dublin, but when its US owners learned that a public collection wished to acquire it they generously agreed, with the co-operation of Adam’s, to sell it privately. The Friends gave a grant of €15,000 and the balance came from Limerick City and County Council.
