Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE FAVOURITE OF old Irish romantics everywhere, The Meeting on the Turret Stairs, has been named Ireland’s favourite painting.
A public vote promoted by RTÉ’s competition to find the nation’s favourite painting over the past five weeks found that the Frederic William Burton piece, which hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland, polled most preferences. One in five of those who voted (22 per cent) went for the romantic 19th century depiction of a young soldier stealing an illicit kiss from his beloved as they pass on a turret stair. Burton was from Corofin, Co Clare.
Speaking on RTÉ’s arts programme The Works last night, President Michael D Higgins said he thought the painting to be “a very considerable and beautiful painting”. He said:
I remember the editorial in the Irish Independent of the day, written by William Martin Murphy, who said that the (National) gallery would never be a jot of value to the common people of Dublin. And thankfully he was wrong. Art is about the foundations of citizenship and creativity and what we all own together and the celebration that should be available to every citizen now and into the future.
The National Gallery said that it had recorded increased visitor figures since the competition began with footfall up by about 20,000 visitors on the same period in 2011. Sales of merchandise relating to all the shortlisted paintings had “doubled” and sales of merchandise relating to the winning painting had increased fourfold on the same period in 2011.
Sharon Corr, who had been one of the celebrity spokespersons on the RTÉ campaign – and who had picked the Meeting on the Turret Stairs as her favourite painting – had recalled how she had seen it on her first date with her now husband Gavin Bonnar. She said:
We’d literally just met the night before in the Gaiety at some salsa club and we were walking up Baggot Street the next day and he said where will we go and I said let’s go to the National Gallery because I’d never been there before. We did and it was so special and we’ve brought our kids back as well, like an anniversary. I’m terribly romantic, I really am a sucker for it all.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Israel are bullies simple as that.
Absolutely agree – your comment is very simple…
Steven,
that conflict will never be end simply because the Zionist want it to be continuo to allow them control the world and to abuse america and Europe for more hundred years, the Israeli and Zionist are guiding the USA to a trap hell every few years they create war after war simply because that kind of people can not live without conflicts and unrest
Empty words, prospect of peace with a multitude of preconditions. It seems to me that both sides enjoy being in a peace process, but neither wants it to come to fruition. It’s sort of like organized, controlled war. Mad.
As a Zionist, I can assure the previous writer that the “control of the world” figures nowhere in Zionism, our concern is the control, under G-d of the land given us by Him (Baruch HaShem). perhaps he should consider who does wish to control the world, the activity of Islamic Fundamentalists in every part of the world would respectfully suggest that it is the Islamic enemies of Zionism that wish to control the world. Perhaps the gentleman would get his facts clear before posting again.
Frank Faldo “Israel are bullies”, how do you justify that. It is not the Israelis who daily target innocent men women and children with rocket attacks, rather it is the enemies of Israel in Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who launch rocket attacks against Israeli people, military and civillian, men women and children alike. Israel only reacts to acts of terrorism and where possible, ensures that no non terrorist victims.
have your say