NORAH MCGUINNESS – Pioneer
14 November 2026 – 20 February 2027
Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, County Louth
Crawford Art Gallery is delighted to loan eight works to Highlanes Gallery for a landmark celebration of a significant twentieth-century Irish artist. Following the success of Nano Reid: Adamantine (2022), this exhibition brings fellow artist and designer, Norah McGuinness, into focus.
Derry-born Norah McGuinness (1901-1980) studied at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art, where her teachers included Harry Clarke and Patrick Touhy. Her subsequent training in London led to an early career in book illustration and stage design. She worked for the Abbey Theatre before furthering her studies, on the advice of Mainie Jellett, with André Lhote in Paris. A member of the Twenties Group in London, she lived in New York from 1937 until 1939, before settling back in Ireland. She was a co-founder and second president of the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, while she and Nano Reid represented Ireland during its first participation at the Venice Biennale in 1950.
This exhibition invites three contemporary artists whose conceptual and material concerns reflect aspects of McGuinness’ practice from a love of the city (Dublin, New York) to a fluency around colour and pattern, as well as a dexterity around design – stage sets, books, and shop windows – and a prolific exhibiting career.
Presenting specially loaned and previously unseen works, this exhibition serves to connect the past, the present, and the rich links between artists and audiences. Featured among the works on loan from Crawford Art Gallery are those formerly held in the collection of Great Southern Hotels and displayed at Parknasilla, County Kerry.
Norah McGuinness - Pioneer opens on Saturday 14 November 2026 and runs until 20 February 2027. Admission is free. See www.highlanes.ie for further information.
Following loans to Nano Reid: Adamantine, Ceiliúradh: Treasures of the Boyne Valley, and To Land: Living Roots Awaken, Crawford Art Gallery wishes to renew its thanks and congratulations to Aoife Ruane and the team at Highlanes Gallery.
Featured artworks:
© 2026 www.crawfordartgallery.ie
