The Hugh Lane Gallery, founded in 1908 by Hugh Lane, was originally at Harcourt Street. It then moved to Parnell Square and has been there since 1933.

A new wing has now been added. However, to say that a new wing has been added is an understatement as the renovations double the space of the original building.

The opening on 4 May ran in conjunction with an exhibition entitled ‘Beyond the White Cube’ by Patrick Ireland.

The new gallery at the Hugh Lane is a statement of conceptualism and geometric abstraction and the artists chosen to adorn its walls are Sean Scully, Francis Bacon and Patrick Ireland.

Sean Scully’s work is large and abstract and consists of densely and lushly painted stripes. He has given eight paintings from his collection and a ninth was given by the Dublin business community. They will go on permanent display in a specially designed room named ‘The Sean Scully Room’, which is lit entirely by natural light.

Scully himself had a hand in designing this room in dimensions, light and layout. Not since Francis Bacon’s studio has the gallery received such a gift. The room is a culmination of ten years’ work between Scully and the Gallery.

As Barbara Dawson, the gallery director, said at the opening, “The dedicated exhibition room gives a sense of space and its proportions and high ceilings are in keeping with the paintings selected for the exhibition.”

Gilroy Mc Mahon, the gallery’s architects, has created a mesmerizing white heaven covering three floors with 13 new galleries to complement the existing 13. The gallery is 4000 square metres, once being 2000 metres, and costing €13 million to build over a 5-year period.
There is a lecture room with state of the art equipment, extensive archive and storage area in the basement for art students, a bookshop and a café. As the Lord Mayor of Dublin said at the reception, “What we dream becomes a dream.”

There is also a showing of eight impressionist paintings at the new gallery which Hugh Lane himself suggested before he died. They are two Manets, a Monet, a Morisot, a Pisarro, a Renoir, a Vuillard and a Degas, These are worth over €180 million.

Other artists to be shown include Jack B Yeats, William Orpen, Sir John Lavery, Louis Le Brocquy, Brian Maguire and Elizabeth Magill. Also mentioned at the reception was a series of Bronze Hare Sculptures by Barry Flanagan, ten of which will be displayed in O’Connell Street. The Hugh Lane is also the world centre for studies on Francis Bacon.

Gallery opening times: Tuesday to Thursday 10 am to 6 pm, Friday and Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday 11 am to 5 pm. Closed Monday. For more information consult the website at www.hughlane.ie