Edward Delaney
Encyclopedia
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
born in Claremorris
Claremorris
Claremorris , is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. The population of Claremoris in the 2011 Census was 3,979....
in County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
in 1930. His best known works include the 1967 statue of Wolfe Tone and famine memorial at the northeastern corner of St Stephen's Green in Dublin and the statue of Thomas Davis
Thomas Osborne Davis (Irish politician)
Thomas Osborne Davis was a revolutionary Irish writer who was the chief organizer and poet of the Young Ireland movement.-Early life:...
in College Green, opposite Trinity College Dublin. These are both examples of lost-wax bronze castings, his main technique during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Biography, early successes and awards
Edward Delaney attended the National College of Art and Design in Dublin and, supported by the Irish Arts Council, studied casting in Germany. He represented Ireland at the Biennale de ParisBiennale de Paris
-History:The 'Biennale de Paris' was launched by Raymond Cogniat in 1959 and set up by André Malraux as he was Minister of Culture to present an overview of young creativity worldwide and to create a place of experiences and meetings.-Presentation:...
in 1959 and 1961.
He represented Ireland at the Paris Biennale (1959 and 1961) and at the World Fair in New York (1965). He has also shown in New York, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, and Budapest. At home, he exhibited in the Hendriks, Royal Hibernian Academy, Davis and Solomon Galleries, and in the Project Arts Centre, amongst others.
Some of his awards and scholarships include: a West German fellowship for sculpture (1956-7); Bavarian State Foreign Students Sculpture Prize (1958); Italian Government Scholarship for sculpture (1959–60); the Arts Council of Ireland Sculpture prizes (1962 and 1964); and the Royal Hibernian Academy
Royal Hibernian Academy
The Royal Hibernian Academy is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823.-History:The RHA was founded as the result of 30 Irish artists petitioning the government for a charter of incorporation...
Award for Sculpture of Distinction in Bronze (1991).
Delaney married Nancy O'Brien in 1961. He has five children by her. When his marriage broke up, around 1980, he moved to Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
. There he met Dr Anne Gillen, by whom he has two children. He was a member of Aosdána
Aosdána
Aosdána is an Irish association of Artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers and with support from the Arts Council of Ireland. Membership, which is by invitation from current members, is limited to 250 individuals; before 2005 it was limited to 200...
.
He died on 22 September 2009, at the age of 79.
Style
Though they do exhibit some of his trademark expressionism, the statues of Wolfe Tone and Thomas Davis are less abstract than was most of his work at the time; the famine memorial is more typical in this regard. However, arts writer Judith Hill points out that these statues make no attempt at an exact likeness of the figures they portray, instead, they communicate the public stature of their subjects and, indeed, the public role of memorial statues through their proportions and scale. In this way, it is argued, they mark the transition from memorial and public art.What all Edward Delaney's work shares is robustness, in an Irish Times review of his 2004 retrospective,arts writer Aidan Dunne described his bronzes as robust, but having an awkwardness, a tenderness about them.
Since 1980 Edward Delaney concentrated on large scale environmental pieces and stainless steel works in Carraroe
Carraroe
An Cheathrú Rua is a village in County Galway, Ireland. The village is within the Irish-speaking region of Connemara, and is famous for its traditional fishing boats known as Galway Hookers. Its population is widely dispersed over Carraroe peninsula between Greatman's Bay and Casla Bay...
, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
. The Royal Hibernian Academy
Royal Hibernian Academy
The Royal Hibernian Academy is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823.-History:The RHA was founded as the result of 30 Irish artists petitioning the government for a charter of incorporation...
held a retrospectives of his work in 1992 and again in 2004.
Major collections
His has been collected by the in Dublin. Works are in many major collections, including the Central Bank of Ireland, Dublin; Bank of IrelandBank of Ireland
The Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...
; Allied Irish Banks
Allied Irish Banks
Allied Irish Banks p.l.c. is a major commercial bank based in Ireland.AIB is one of the so called "big four" commercial banks in the state. The bank has one of the largest branch networks in Ireland; only Bank of Ireland fully rivals it. AIB offers a full range of personal and corporate banking...
; Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin; Ulster Museum
Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures from the Spanish Armada, local history, numismatics, industrial...
, Belfast; Waterford Museum; Office of Public Works, Dublin; First National Bank of Chicago; First National City Bank of New York; An Chomhairle Ealaíon/The Irish Arts Council; KLM Airlines Headquarters, New York; Irish Management Institute, Dublin; Jefferson Smurfit Group Ltd.; Norman B.Arnoff, New York; University College, Dublin, and the Abbey Theatre
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre , also known as the National Theatre of Ireland , is a theatre located in Dublin, Ireland. The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904. Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day...
, Dublin.
A large body of Delaney's work can be seen at the Open Air Sculpture Park in Carraroe in the west of Ireland.
External links
- Aosdána short biography
- Royal Hibernian Academy 2004 retrospective
- Stone mad - an encounter with Delaney in 2002, The Irish IndependentIrish IndependentThe Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
- Edward Delaney obituary The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 19 October 2009