Official Launch of the Waterford Gallery of Art
The Waterford Gallery of Art is located at 31-32 O’Connell Street and the launch is happening from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The gallery would be delighted if you can join them in celebrating the official opening.
The gallery is the proud new home of the Waterford Collection of Art which features over 500 works of art by some of Ireland’s best-known artists including: Sarah Purser (RHA); Evie Hone (HRHA); John Butler Yates (RHA); Jack Butler Yates (RHA); Paul Henry (RHA); Louis Le Brocquy (RHA); Hilda Roberts (HRHA); Seán Keating (PRHA); and Mainie Jellett.
This opening coincides with launch of the gallery’s current exhibition, Portraits: People & Place.
This newly designed in-house display includes over 50 paintings, drawings, films, photography and audio by artists: Una Sealy (RHA), James Hanley (RHA), Thomas Ryan (PPRHA), John Behan (RHA), Hilda Roberts (HRHA), Mildred Anne Butler (RA, RWS), Tony Ryan, Gottfried Helnwein and more.
As well as the art, the building itself is worth a visit. Formally a bank, it was designed by the Waterford born architect Thomas Jackson (1807 – 1890). After time working in both Bristol and Belfast, Jackson returned to Waterford to design the bank at 31 O’Connell Street. It was completed around 1845.
The building retains many of its original features and is a significant reminder of the prosperity present within the area in the mid-nineteenth century.