Adam's The Antoinette and Patrick J.Murphy Collection 23rd October 2019

9 www.adams.ie The Antoinette & Patrick J. Murphy Collection | 23rd October2019 P atrick J. Murphy, Collector Invariably smiling, outgoing, charismatic and en- thusiastic, Patrick J. Murphy is a familiar figure to anyone involved in art in Ireland over the past fifty years. Apart from his private activities as a col- lector of modern Irish art, he has served on many art committees and organisations, including the Cultural Relations Committee, as Chair of Rosc 84 and Rosc 88, as Trustee of the National Self-Por- trait Collection, as Chair of Contemporary Irish Art Society, (1991-2000), as a member and then Chair of the Arts Council of Ireland (2002-03), and in retirement, as Art Advisor for the Office of Pub- lic Works (2000-09). His successful career in the brewing industry ben- efited his knowledge of art, not just financially, but in allowing him to live in London, Ghana and Malaysia and to travel widely, developing connec- tions with collectors, galleries and artists inter- nationally. His business acumen has been valued in a culture that requires the corporate sector to give long-standing support to the arts. It is clear, however, from reading his memoir A Passion for Collecting that art provided an escape from the pressures of work and was never just a hobby nor a reason for financial speculation 1 . Pat recognises that art is a separate and distinct sphere of activity that rewards the viewer in profound ways. Over the past five decades, he has researched, studied and invested considerable time and energy into art, curating, writing and fund-raising as well as building his own collection. It became a central preoccupation for his wife, Antoinette also. She trained and exhibited as an artist, studied art history and set up the Peppercanister Gallery, with their son, Bryan in 1999 2 . The collection shows a deep understanding and appreciation of painting, with a highly intuitive perception of colour and form. It is anchored by outstanding examples of works by leading Irish artists such as Jack B. Yeats, Paul Henry, Mainie Jellett, Evie Hone, May Guinness, Mary Swanzy, Nano Reid and Grace Henry. Work by the next generation of artists, Louis le Brocquy, Barrie Cooke, Camille Souter, Basil Blackshaw, Seán McSweeney, Tony O’Malley, Brian Bourke and Patrick Collins also feature large in the collection, as well as abstract paintings by Cecil King and Patrick Scott. Pat chooses the best examples of an artist’s work, deaccessioning when necessary, giving the collection an organic quality, enabling it to be updated and subtly altered over the years. Pat is also a significant collector of sculpture, procuring work by the leading sculptors of 20th century Ireland such as Jerome Connor, Conor Fallon, Melanie le Brocquy, Imogen Stuart, Hilary Heron, Sonja Landweer, John Behan, James McKenna, Graham Gingles and Brian King. The sculpture is usually, although not always, suited to an intimate, domestic context where the material can be carefully scrutinised and the textures and surfaces enjoyed at close proximity. Frequently colourful, exotic and humorous, it adds a three dimensional counterpoint to the paintings that surround it. Pat’s appreciation of sculptural form has been enhanced by his time in Asia and Africa, where, for example, when living in Kumasi in Ghana in the early 1970s, he collected Ashanti figures. Guided by his discerning eye, Pat has ventured into acquiring work by progressively younger figures which keeps the collection energized. These include very different types of work by highly regarded artists such as Francis Tansey, Richard Gorman, Cecily Brennan, Conor Walton, Michael Warren, Janet Mullarney, Deirdre McLoughlin, and Kathy Prendergast. Pat began collecting when he was in his early twenties, around the time of his marriage in 1964 when it seems, in part, to have been led by his desire to possess works of art that could be displayed in his and Antoinette’s home. (The first work he acquired was a painting by Desmond Carrick, with wedding present money.) Brought up in New Ross, Co Wexford, Pat admits that there was nothing in his background that would have encouraged an interest in the visual arts. But upon getting a job in the Central Bank of Ireland and then in Guinness’s Brewery, he found him-