CAG.2770 Seán Keating, On the Run, War of Independence, 1922, oil on canvas, 100 x 121 cm. Presented to the State, 2012 (AIB Art Collection). © Estate of Seán Keating.

WORK OF THE WEEK!

On the Run, War of Independence (1922) by Seán Keating has recently returned to display in the Gallery.

As its title suggests, the context for this painting is the Irish War of Independence (1919-21). It depicts three men seated in a farmyard, taking a moment to rest and eat as they evade capture by British Crown Forces. Trees, a wall, spade, gate, and pony trap complete the background.

Keating’s arrangement of figures is immediate and, as art historian Éimear O’Connor notes, it also reflects the artist’s engagement with photography as a compositional aid. The cut-off composition draws the viewer into this tense scene of withdrawal, anxiety, and fear.

‘By choosing to portray the group in this way,’ O’Connor observes that ‘Keating was doing everything he could to visualise the sensation of estrangement and anxiety caused by war for his contemporary audience, who surely recognised what he was trying to do.’

The painting is one of several that Keating made between 1915 and 1924 that respond to the contemporary history. This is perhaps most famously expressed in Men of the South (1921-22) which is currently on loan to the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) for inclusion in the major exhibition, SELF-DETERMINATION: A Global Perspective.

Seán Keating (1889-1977) is usually considered as an academic realist or romantic realist artist. Having trained under William Orpen, he would go to become a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy, acting as its President from 1950 until 1962.

On the Run, War of Independence (1922) by Seán Keating is displayed on our Gibson Landing (Floor 1).

The Arts House: Conor Tallon chats with curator Michael Waldron about a work from the Collection every Sunday morning on Cork’s 96FM and C103 Cork. 

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