Adam's IMPORTANT IRISH ART 1st June 2022

Important Irish Art | 1 June 2022 75 Fisa Playing his Harp shows a male and a female figure standing in front of a branching tree (the ‘harp’) under a crowned eagle, with a skull and other symbols below. Probably commissioned by W.B. Yeats from his sister, perhaps using some of his Nobel Prize money (1923). ‘Fisa’ or ‘Fiza’ is a popular Muslim name meaning ‘the God of the wind’. Boris Anrep (1883-1969), born in Russia, made his name in London as a mosaic artist, with large-scale works at the National Gallery, Westminster Cathedral and the Bank of England. He also produced mo- saic panels of St. Anne and St. Patrick for Christ the King Cathedral in Mullingar. His friends included the poet Anna Akhmatova, the painter Augustus John, members of the Bloomsbury Group and other intellectuals. Many of his smaller works are now in museums.