Imogen Stuart - In Her Hands Exhibition Catalogue

IMOGEN STUART IN HER HANDS

Taispeántas le Imogen Stuart dar teideal

IN HER HANDS

Acknowledgements

Imogen Stuart In Her Hands

First published by Mary Immaculate College to accompany the exhibition Imogen Stuart In Her Hands, which was on public display in the John Henry Newman Chapel, MIC Limerick from November to December 2022.

Curator: Naomi O’Nolan Design: OystercatcherTF Print: Image Solutions Ltd. Photography: Gillian Buckley Editor: Naomi O’Nolan ISBN: 978-1-900146-38-8

Essay: © Brian Fallon Other text © the authors Images on page 15 © Imogen Stuart All rights reserved.

Mary Immaculate College South Circular Road, Limerick, Ireland Phone: +353 (0) 61 204300 web: www.mic.ie

FREE ADMISSION

A very special thank you to the following: Imogen Stuart, Aisling Law, Brian Fallon, Anne Nash, Moira O’Dwyer, Joni Roche Sven Habermann, Conservation Letterfrack, Siobhan O’Reilly and Raymond Griffin.

Lenders: Imogen Stuart, AIB, Arts Council of Ireland, University of Limerick and The Ark in Temple Bar

Cover image: The Psalm

Introduction

Professor Eugene Wall President, Mary Immaculate College

Imogen Stuart, RHA, one of Ireland’s foremost sculptors, is most celebrated for her ecclesiastical commission work. On arriving in Ireland in 1950 she lived in Glendalough with her husband’s family where she developed a keen interest in Ancient Irish art and Christian literature and poetry which has provided inspiration for her creative practice. Many of her works are displayed in churches and public spaces across Ireland. Very early in her career, the Sisters of Mercy commissioned three major works for Mary Immaculate College, St Brigid, Christ Teaching and St Colmcille, all executed in 1958. This was the beginning of a lifetime friendship and collaboration between Imogen Stuart and Mary Immaculate College. Former President of MIC, the late Professor Peadar Cremin, commissioned further works and now the College are proud and fortunate to have 14 works on campus. What a privilege it is for our staff and students to be surrounded by these wonderful artworks offering a source of inspiration and reflection. The John Henry Newman Chapel (c.1870) on campus has undergone a major refurbishment over the last year and it is a great honour to celebrate Imogen Stuart and her contribution to the Arts in Ireland by hosting the exhibition Imogen Stuart: In Her Hands in the chapel to mark its opening.

Professor Eugene Wall November 2022

Tá clú agus cáil ar Imogen Stuart, AIR, duine de na dealbhóirí is mó le rá in Éirinn mar thoradh ar a saothar eaglasta coimisiúnaithe. Nuair a tháinig sí go hÉirinn i 1950, chuir sí fúithi i nGleann Dá Loch le teaghlach a fir chéile áit ar chuir sí suim mhór in ealaín ársa na hÉireann agus i litríocht agus i bhfilíocht Chríostaí, rud a bhí mar inspioráid dá cleachtas cruthaitheach. Tá go leor dá saothar ar taispeáint i séipéil agus i spásanna poiblí ar fud na hÉireann. Go luath ina gairm bheatha, choimisiúnaigh Siúracha na Trócaire trí mhórshaothar do Choláiste Mhuire gan Smál, Naomh Bríd, Críost ag Teagaisc agus Naomh Colmcille, iad go léir cruthaithe i 1958. Ba é seo tús an chairdis agus an chomhoibrithe saoil idir Imogen Stuart agus Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál. Coláiste gan Smál. Choimisiúnaigh iar-Uachtarán CMgS, an tOllamh Peadar Cremin, nach maireann, tuilleadh saothair dá cuid agus anois tá an coláiste bródúil go bhfuil ceithre shaothar déag de chuid Imogen ar an gcampas.

Is pribhléid í dár bhfoireann agus dár mic léinn go bhfuil na saothair iontacha ealaíne seo inár dtimpeallacht, mar fhoinse inspioráide agus machnaimh dúinn. Tá athchóiriú mór déanta le bliain anuas ar Shéipéal John Henry Newman (t.1870) ar an gcampas agus is ionad thar a bheith oiriúnach é don taispeántas tionscnaimh seo.

Is mór an onóir do CMgS é Imogen Stuart agus an méid a rinne sí do na healaíona in Éirinn a cheiliúradh trí thaispeántas Imogen Stuart: In Her Hands a reachtáil i séipéal JHN ar ócáid a oscailt.

An tOllamh Eugene Wall Samhain 2022

Réamhrá

An tOllamh Eugene Wall

Uachtarán, Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál

Window on the World 1991

Imogen Stuart Art Collection - a valuable teaching and learning resource

Extended learning in art comes through the visual cues we see daily. The permanent art collection at MIC plays an important role in enriching the staff, students and wider communities’ experiences with the arts. The art collection at MIC includes important works from the prolific sculptor, Imogen Stuart. These works are a valuable teaching and learning resource and a place where students can experience objects and artefacts first-hand, as opposed to merely studying them in textbooks or online. This exposure to the permanent art collection can unlock potential within our students, helping them to develop skills in communication, collaboration, creativity and problem-solving. Within the B Ed (Primary Teaching) programme, Visual Art students are encouraged to be aware of their surroundings and record what they find interesting. Students’ observations and recordings are often inspired by Imogen Stuart works as they observe and discuss the sculptures and relief works they encounter across the campus. Imogen’s work is used to demonstrate sculptural techniques such as modelling, carving, and relief work using an array of materials including wood, stone, clay, steel and bronze. While Imogen’s work is religious in context, it also expands interests and promotes aesthetic and cultural development opportunities for students, and integrates art into the daily living environment of Mary Immaculate College (MIC).

Anne-Marie Morrin, Lecturer, MIC.

Imogen Stuart’s sculptures are intercultural masterpieces. They echo German avantgarde art, such as path-breaking initiatives like the Bauhaus and the works of sculptors like Ernst Barlach, Käthe Kollwitz, and Gerhard Marcks. At the same time, they are representations of Irish art, culture, and beliefs. For our students, seeing them as transnational and intercultural opens yet another avenue into learning and understanding German. I am deeply grateful to Imogen for sharing her stories with MIC students on several occasions and for her works of art, which enrich our everyday.

Christiane Schönfeld, Head of German Studies at MIC.

Coming from a secular university in Germany, I was intrigued by the religious statues all across MIC‘s campus. I was surprised to find among them pieces of modern art by the renowned Irish-German sculptor Imogen Stuart. Influenced by Otto Hitzberger, Stuart‘s work fuses German Expressionism with Romanesque religious motifs and early Irish Christian iconography. Her life and work became an integral topic of my BA lectures on Irish-German relations. Students are fascinated to hear about a transnational biography –stretching from 1930s Berlin, her marriage to Ian Stuart, son of Francis Stuart and grandson of Maud Gonne, and beyond – and how it influenced sculptures they see every day on their way to their lectures.

Dr Sabine Egger, Department for German Studies, Joint Director of the Irish Centre for Transnational Studies, MIC.

I am delighted that the work of Imogen Stuart is being celebrated in the College, particularly in the newly renovated John Henry Newman Chapel. Since my early days in MIC over 20 years ago, I’ve found the art of Imogen Stuart displayed strategically around the campus to be a source of inspiration and reflection. I have a particular attachment to the Window on the World in the Tara Building, a space where I have often sat down to just take time to gather my thoughts. I also love the tenderness of the image of Virgin and Child sculpture on the grounds. The In Principio work in the Tara Building was an ever-present reminder of why we are all here, and the purpose of our work. All the artwork is very inspirational and moving, and has a very strong association with MIC in my heart.

Myra Hayes, Theology & Religious Studies Department, MIC.

Madonna and Child 2004 MIC collection

The Litany of Daniel (No. 3) 2001 MIC collection

St Patrick’s Ladder 2003 MIC collection

Staff Reflection

Mary Immaculate College (MIC)

A multi-campus institution of teaching and learning excellence

Mary Immaculate College (MIC), founded in 1898, is a University-level College of Education and the Liberal Arts.

Following the incorporation of St Patrick’s College Thurles in 2016, MIC is now a multi-campus institution, with a student population of over 5,000 students enrolled in undergraduate programmes in Primary and Post-Primary Education, Psychology, Liberal Arts and Early Childhood Care and Education, as well as a range of postgraduate programmes at Diploma, MA and PhD levels across campuses in Limerick and Thurles.

MIC also offers continuing professional development (CPD) courses and is committed to improving access to higher education for adults with a range of tailored programmes and supports that make the journey for adult learners as easy as possible.

MIC’s international profile continues to go from strength-to-strength with students and staff having opportunities to travel to visit institutions in other countries and its campuses are enriched by the presence of a growing number of international students and visiting academics.

MIC provides a relaxed and harmonious environment, encourages and cultivates an informal atmosphere and underscores an ethos grounded in principles such as respect for cultural diversity and individual values, the promotion of equity in society and a spirit of justice and compassion in the service of others.

With a reputation for excellence in teaching, learning and research MIC is a hub of academic distinction and is known for the high calibre of students it has attracted since its establishment over a century ago. The most distinctive aspect of student life at MIC is the emphasis placed on providing students with a range of supports and opportunities that correspond to their individual and diverse needs, enabling them to enjoy a rich and rounded learning experience.

The high standard of achievement of MIC graduates is maintained year on year, with alumni being widely recognised as valuable contributors to all areas of social, cultural and professional life around the world, inspired by the College’s entreaty to ‘Make a Difference’.

Recent capital investment programmes have enabled the reshaping and development of the campuses into estates that offer world-leading facilities. Further developments include plans for a 21st century cutting-edge library and learning resource centre designed to accommodate the College’s increasing student numbers.

www.mic.ie

Is Coláiste Oideachais agus Saorealaíne ag leibhéal ollscoile é Coláiste Mhuire Gan Smál, Luimneach, a bunaíodh in 1898.

Mar thoradh ar ionchorprú Choláiste Phádraig i nDurlas i 2016, is institiúid ilchampais é an Coláiste anois, le daonra de bhreis is 5,000 mac léinn cláraithe ar chláir a phléann le Bun-oideachas, le hIar-bhunoideachas, leis an Síceolaíocht, leis na Dána agus le Cúram agus Oideachas na Luath-Óige, mar aon le réimse de chláir iarchéime ag leibhéal an Dioplóma, na Máistreachta agus na Dochtúireachta ar champais i Luimneach agus i nDurlas.

Cuireann CMgS cúrsaí forbartha gairmiúla leanúnaí (FGL) ar fáil agus tá an coláiste tiomanta rochtain ar ardoideachas do dhaoine fásta a fheabhsú le réimse de chláir agus de thacaíochtaí saincheapaithe a fheidhmíonn mar éascaitheoirí do thuras léann an fhoghlaimeora lánfhásta.

Tá próifíl idirnáisiúnta CMgS ag dul ó neart go neart, le deiseanna ag mic léinn agus ag baill foirne ar aon chuairt a thabhairt ar institiúidí i dtíortha eile agus cuireann líon méadaitheach na mac léinn idirnáisiúnta agus acadóirí ar cuairt go mór lenár gcampais.

Cuireann CMgS timpeallacht atá suaimhneach agus cairdiúil ar fáil ina spreagtar agus a chothaítear atmaisféar neamhfhoirmiúil agus trína leagtar béim ar éiteas atá bunaithe i bprionsabail cosúil le meas ar ilchineálacht chultúrtha agus ar luachanna aonair, le cur chun cinn an chothromais sa tsochaí agus ar spiorad ceartais agus comhbhá i seirbhís do dhaoine eile.

Le cáil ar CMgS don sármhaitheas sa teagasc, san fhoghlaim agus sa taighde, is mol don acadúlacht ardchaighdeáin é CMgS a mheallann mic léinn le mianach iontu ó bunaíodh é breis agus céad bliain ó shin. Is í an ghné is sainiúla de shaol an mhic léinn ag CMgS ná an bhéim a leagtar ar réimse de thacaíochtaí agus deiseanna a sholáthar do mhic léinn chun freastal ar a riachtanais aonair agus éagsúla, rud a chuireann ar a gcumas taithí shaibhir chuimsitheach foghlama a aimsiú.

Déantar iarracht gach bliain ardchaighdeán gnóthachtála chéimithe CMgS a choimeád suas bliain i ndiaidh bliana, agus aithnítear go forleathan go gcuireann alumni CMgS go mór le gach réimse den saol sóisialta, cultúrtha agus gairmiúil ar fud an domhain, spreagtha ag mana an Choláiste ‘Difríocht a Dhéanamh’.

De bharr na gclár infheistíochta caipitiúla a cruthaíodh le déanaí bhíothas in ann tabhairt faoi athmhúnlú agus faoi fhorbairt na gcampas ar mhaithe le háiseanna den chéad scoth a sholáthar. I measc na bpleananna forbartha breise atá beartaithe tá leabharlann cheannródaíoch don 21ú haois mar aon le h-ionad acmhainní foghlama deartha chun freastal ar líon méadaitheach na mac léinn sa Choláiste.

Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál (CMgS)

Institiúid ilchampais sármhaitheasa um teagaisc agus um taighde

McAuley Medal Awarded to Imogen Stuart RHA

Former President of Ireland Mary McAleese, Imogen Stuart RHA, and the late Prof. Peadar Cremin, former President of MIC, pictured on the occasion of the presentation of the McAuley Medal to Imogen in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the arts in Ireland. Pictured in front of Imogen’s piece Window on the World (part of the MIC collection).

In honour of her lifetime contribution to the arts in Ireland, Imogen Stuart RHA, was awarded the McAuley Medal from Mary Immaculate College in 2010, presented by the then Uachtarán na hÉireann, Mary McAleese.

Drawing inspiration from those who have striven to make a difference in society locally, nationally and internationally, the College instituted an order of honour in 2008 to recognise people whose vision and exceptional personal commitment to the good of the wider community has a truly widespread impact. This honour, the McAuley Medal, is the highest award that can be bestowed by the College. It is named in memory of Catherine McAuley, the founder of the Catholic Sisters of Mercy, whose outstanding dedication to the most marginalised members of the community continues to inform the College’s ethos.

Speaking at the event President McAleese said, “Those on whom the McAuley Medal is bestowed are recognised by MIC as torch-bearers, as people who have the gift of illuminating life with an exceptional radiance. Imogen is such a human being, though if she never painted or sculpted a thing, she would still be a remarkably vibrant, generous, life-enhancing human being. But we are so fortunate that the inner light that shines from Imogen is expressed in a canon of work which we are privileged to share and experience in all the places that it is exhibited, including here at MIC where it gently informs, challenges and enriches community life. Imogen has a powerful way of synthesizing past, present and future, of drawing us deep into our spiritual heritage and directing us to the possibilities for the heritage that we ourselves are creating in our time”.

Also speaking on the day was the late Professor Peadar Cremin, former President of MIC, who spoke of Imogen as being a unifying force in Irish art and, correspondingly, in Irish society itself.

Fellow recipients of the McAuley Medal include the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver who received the accolade in recognition of her outstanding work in establishing the Special Olympics and Fr Peter McVerry in recognition of his exceptional contribution to combatting homelessness in Ireland.

It is my privilege to present the exhibition Imogen Stuart In Her Hands in Limerick. Mary Immaculate College (MIC) has for some time wanted to celebrate the work of Imogen Stuart RHA, whose association with the College goes back more than 60 years from their first acquisition in 1958. Today, 14 of Imogen Stuart’s works can be seen throughout the College.

Not only is Imogen Stuart one of Ireland’s foremost sculptors, she has contributed enormously to the history and development of 20th century sculpture in Ireland, carving a career in various media spanning seven decades. She credits both her father Bruno Werner, the highly acclaimed art critic, and her master, Otto Hitzberger, a renowned German sculptor, as being the two most influential people in her life. Her childhood was oriented towards the visual arts and her father introduced her to many great artworks visiting churches and museums. Otto Hizberger taught her all the techniques needed to become a great sculptor. Many will be familiar with Imogen Stuart sculpture as examples of her work are spread throughout Ireland, in churches, and public spaces, The Arch of Peace (1989), Cavan, The Fountain Wall, (1991) with 18 holy water fonts at Knock and The Fiddler of Dooney and children (1964-65) at Stillorgan Shopping Centre.

Mary Immaculate College has just completed a major refurbishment of The John Henry Newman Chapel, which dates back to the 1870’s, and Imogen Stuart In Her Hands will be its inaugural exhibition. What a fitting tribute for this wonderful sculptor and celebration of her life’s work.

Over 30 works in different media will be on display, clearly demonstrating the breadth of her output. Hands have always been a very powerful form of expression and feature strongly in her work. Her unique approach to depicting religious scenes is evident as is the fun and humour she introduces into other work such as Wilhelma the Tortoise (1996) and Surprise (2005).

It has been a pleasure curating Imogen Stuart In Her Hands. One of my favourite experiences was sitting in Imogen’s studio listening to her talk fondly about her life and work. Music always played in the workshop. For her, it is like sunshine for a bird; it makes things seem unproblematic and gives her a flow. Wood has always been her favourite material and she talked enthusiastically about different types, grains and characteristics. We were surrounded by lovely carvings, drawings, her workbench, and the many tools, including chisels and hammers she used to create many masterpieces.

Many people have been involved in making this exhibition happen. Most importantly, I would like to thank Imogen Stuart for her wonderful support throughout, her energy and enthusiasm is nothing less than inspiring; also her daughter Aisling Law. I extend a huge thank you to the President of MIC, Professor Eugene Wall, and all the staff at Mary Immaculate College. To other lenders - the University of Limerick, the Arts Council, AIB and The Ark in Temple Bar a big thank you.

I sincerely hope that visitors to Imogen Stuart In Her Hands will enjoy viewing these great works in the beautiful setting of the John Henry Newman Chapel.

Foreword

Naomi O’Nolan Curator

Naomi O’Nolan November 2022

A Purposeful Place in Irish Sculpture

Brian Fallon

There was a period, not so long ago either, when Imogen Stuart held no obvious place or role in Irish sculpture, or even in Irish art as a whole. This may seem strange today, but nonetheless it was hard, plain fact. Plenty of people liked and respected her personally, of course, but her talented sculptor-husband, Ian Stuart (now dead), generally stole the show without effort and for years she was seen as little more than his supernumerary.

Imogen had very few one-woman shows, no regular gallery that I can recall, while her ranking in the Royal Irish Academy was for the general public of no particular interest, when seen in the context of the period. That she was, both by instinct and training, an exceptionally hard, dedicated worker and a versatile craftswoman, seemingly made little or no difference to her standing, or rather the lack of one. (In fact, it may even have damaged it by depriving her of any obvious topicality or “colour”).

The truth was, she was basically out of step with the times, and remained so for much of her long career. For quite some time, when seen in retrospect, Irish art in general was held in rather dubious regard unless it fitted in with the style, pattern and taste of so-called “internationalism’’ - very often meaning American art at second hand. (Before that it had been French art, again mostly at second hand.) This type of allegiance, in spite of its very vagueness, could prove as binding and categorical in its way as old-style realism and academicism were to the mass of art-goers in the nineteenth century.

All this of course is ancient history, or else rapidly becoming so. The age of official Modernism is well over, whether it stemmed from Paris or New York, or even Germany. Broadly speaking, we now appear to live in an epoch of ‘anything goes’, or something approximating to that, and one which obviously creates its own specific problems in turn. Meanwhile topical new styles continue to proliferate like wasps in a hot summer; good, bad and mediocre exhibitions turn up almost mechanically, while newspapers and magazines proclaim the various new talents etc. You have heard most of this before, I seem to hear you say, and so too have I.

There is only one obvious answer or solution, and that is to ignore the ponderous, numbing bulk of the present and/or the transient, just as we should ignore all bad or glib politicians, and to stick to our guns plus our inner convictions, insofar as we possess any. Forget about most topical reputations, some of which may well prove themselves with time, but that is their own affair and not really ours. (In any case talent, when it is genuine, more often than not appears to find its own outlet, even against the odds). And meanwhile, we should pay due homage to those with a long, genuinely remarkable life’s work to their credit and who have always followed their own path, or paths. Of these, Imogen is surely among the most obvious and the most meritorious.

One factor in her particular case has often drily amused me; the fact that Dublin, not among the most obviously cosmopolitan of European cities, was pleased for quite some time to regard her as a rather provincial, even archaic product of an age and taste which survived only in relatively backward areas of Europe. Her early training as a sculptor was largely carried out under a halfforgotten but gifted Bavarian, Otto Hitzberger, who was neither a reactionary nor a survivor from a folkish past, but remained true to his ancestry in German art and to his special skills as a woodcarver. Far from being a mere survival of the past, he was a respected artist who, predictably, fell foul of the Nazis, but survived and now has a street in his native town posthumously named after him.

It was to Hitzberger that her art-critic father, Bruno Werner, turned while

seeking a possible teacher for his teenage daughter. He proved an excellent choice and it should be added that he turned out to be an equally good one for her husband-to-be, the gifted Ian Stuart. Eventually they became engaged and, the War years by now being well over, in 1951 moved to Ireland, where they married. Eventually they produced three daughters, one of whom died tragically in a motor accident.

Imogen still regards her father and her teacher Hitzberger as the two dominant personalities of her career, quite inescapably. For one thing her father, a Bauhaus admirer, was widely regarded as Germany’s leading art critic, until Nazi pressures forced him more or less into hiding in the later years of the war (he was half-Jewish). More than that, he was also a noted editor, novelist, translator (of poetry as well as prose), and a friend of many writers and artists. In short, Imogen grew up in a cosmopolitan, multi-cultured milieu, based mainly in Berlin, and her later move to Ireland was, if anything, a personal venture into what seemed a relatively backward area of the visual arts.

As it happened, she soon fell in love with the Irish landscape and even more so with Celtic art and Celtic manuscripts, which have been a steady source of discovery and inspiration to her over many years.

So too, unavoidably, have been both German Gothic and the more folkish, playful world of Bavarian Rococo; both revealed to her personally by Hitzberger in his small, battered car with which he drove her into the Bavarian hills and mountains. (The survival of so many of these often small, isolated churches over the centuries must count as something more than a minor miracle). So her artistic inheritance is largely dualistic, though early in her career she also became fascinated by Egyptian art, in its earlier phases at least. Most of it, in her earlier days at least, she largely knew from books.

By comparison Greek art, so she says, means relatively little to her and Renaissance art almost nothing at all (some people, of course, might argue with the latter claim). In general, she is strongly drawn to primitive cultures and particularly admires the primitive aspect of Brancusi, one of her favourites. So if you chose to describe her as an eclectic, strictly speaking she could hardly disagree outright - except that it remains a very individual form of eclecticism, in which the adjective may even seem to contradict the noun. Her work, in fact, seems very much her own.

We have her own word for it that from the start there was no obvious competition between her and her husband - certainly not in their earlier years, at least. For one thing, Ian Stuart from the beginning saw himself as a Modernist sculpture and was correspondingly so seen by enlightened artlovers in Dublin while Imogen, by contrast, quite quickly found favour with the Irish clergy. This in itself was hardly surprising, since the quality of Irish Catholic church art in those years was uninspiring if not worse, while much or most of it was little better than pastiche - rather clumsy, charmless pastiche at that, without either invention or style. (There are notable exceptions to this, of course, both in architecture and, more rarely, nineteenth-century sculpture, while the stained-glass works of Harry Clarke and a small nucleus of others must register as something little short of a miracle).

There is a great deal more of course to Imogen Stuart than religious art alone,

Tree of Life 1990

St Josephs Church, Glasthule, Co Dublin

so much more in fact that the term begins to sound almost like a misnomer. She has certainly worked in many Irish churches, and in capacities ranging from altar designs to church furniture and certain other striking effects, or even ornaments. Against this, themes from Irish mythology and folklore (for instance, Pangur Bán ) have provided her with many of her sculptural subjects: she has created a number of fine portrait heads; the big Arch of Peace in Cavan town has no obvious religious implications that I can see; the Tree of All Seasons, which still exists only in a small version - is surely a tribute to nature and not to piety; Wilhelma the Tortoise is merely the likeness of an animal (and a very fine one too) which seems meant primarily for schoolchildren. By contrast, the very striking Tree of Life at St Joseph’s Church in Glasthule Church, Co Dublin, presumably has its own religious significance but does not proclaim the fact. It is in metal, incidentally, and though I have seen it many times, I can rarely resist revisiting it whenever I pass.

Meanwhile, it does seem strange, or even unnatural, to offer something resembling an apology for the fact that Imogen Stuart has a strongly religious side and is not ashamed to admit the fact. Religious art, after all, has always existed in some form or other - indeed, in a great many forms, and some of the great epochs in history have left corresponding testaments to this fact. The cathedrals of the Middle Ages for instance are by general consent among the highest achievements of the human race and still attract the respect, if not necessarily the reverence, of millions of people every year. The poetry of Dante holds its place and so does the music of Bach; the Bible is still universally read; religious rituals are observed by billions of of people around the globe. And great men such as Goethe were not afraid to proclaim their belief in personal immortality, he being only one philosophic mind among many… I could go on in this vein, but it would serve no obvious purpose since the Zeitgeist seemingly must follow its own impetus.

Imogen’s religious creations are wide-ranging in subject matter and reflect the variety of her materials as well as her inventive power. Broadly speaking, she is an eclectic but in the wider, deeper sense, someone who has worked in a variety of media and styles over years, and for the most part has mastered them with authority. The big bronze crucifix in Armagh Cathedral, one of her strongest pieces I am convinced, has a certain upward-reaching rhythm which suggests resurrection rather than ritual burial, as the average crucifix almost habitually, not to say repetitively, does. (Incidentally, her dislike of this particular format of cross is strong and deep, and she has been at some trouble to find other more visually striking solutions to it).

Window on the World (in wood, hanging on chains) places its almost miniature Christ-figure against a sharp influx of light which, again, suggests hope rather than gloom or catharsis. Wood, incidentally, appears to be her favourite material above all else, her knowledge of the widely varying types of trees, and of their contrasting strengths and uses for an artist, goes back a long way. Stone, by contrast, she rather dislikes working with, both for its intractability

The Arch of Peace 1989 Cavan town

Pangur Bán 1976 Áras An Uachtaráin, Phoenix Park, Dublin

and because of the discordant sounds it makes while being worked on with chisels or other implements. Bronze she respects for its obvious modelling qualities, but wood probably remains her chosen material in the end.

Now in her nineties, Imogen Stuart has travelled a long way, in an epoch which was quite often strongly - or even at times, contemptuously, against both her training and her essential instincts. Basically she is a traditionalist, but not in the longossified academic tradition; her eyes and reactions remain sharp and wideawake, as they have always done, and she rejects convention. Two special colleagues she still mourns however are the Polishborn sculptor, Alexandra Wejchert and the Dublin-born sculptor, Melanie le Brocquy. Between them all, they made a very remarkable trio.

In her youth, of course, Imogen went through long, nightmare periods of war and want, which only ended when bombed, battered and exhausted Germany was overrun by armies who treated the country more or less as the sole, unique source of Europe’s ills. (The extent of Stalin’s tyranny, exercised over so much of the globe, is at last realised in full and has begun to temper this viewpoint somewhat. Hitler, after all, was not the only monster of a nightmare epoch; and in any case, Stalin outlived him by several years, with horrific results for many peoples).

Nevertheless Imogen insists that inside herself, she never felt embittered or spurned in Ireland and somehow kept her self-confidence intact, so long as she could find creative, fulfilling work to express herself and, of course, touch the hearts or emotions of the public for whom she largely worked. And here her debt to the Irish clergy should be fairly acknowledged, alongside so many dogmatic philistines there were still quite admirable figures who recognised her gifts, when rather few people at the time did. This, I feel and believe, should not be overlooked either any more than her achievements as an artist should be forgotten.

Brian Fallon November 2022

Crucifix 1984 Armagh Cathedral

Madonna and Child 1946

Pearwood 37 x 7 x 9 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

Imogen Stuart has created many Madonnas in the course of her career. This small work in pearwood is the artist’s first carving of a Madonna while still a student under the expressionist sculptor Professor Otto Hitzberger. She spent five years under his tutelage where she learnt all about composition, form and technique working with many different materials. This little statue depicts the loving tenderness between mother and child, which was a present for her parents who loved the cheeky little baby Jesus.

Garderobe is derived from The French garde de robes meaning ‘robes or clothing protector’ dating back to Medieval times. This simple Garderobe is beautifully carved in oak, with motifs of animals, birds and the natural world, which also appear on the carved hangers. The mirror frame was inspired by Egyptian carvings done by her Master. It had been commissioned by a patron and admirer of Imogen Stuart’s work in the 1940’s and later donated to MIC by the patron’s widow.

GardeRobe 1948

Oak 185 x 200 cm MIC collection

Daphnis and Chloe Box

1951

Pearwood

25.5 x 18 x 10 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

The carving on this box is a story of love based on the characters Daphnis and Chloe from the ancient Greek novel written in the second century AD by novelist and romance writer Longus. In the story, Daphnis and Chloe were both brought up by different shepherds and fell in love. The carving in pearwood depicts the couple herding sheep. Imogen Stuart carved this box in 1951, the year she married sculptor Ian Stuart.

The word ‘teacher’ is mentioned 48 times in the four gospels and is fundamental to the identity of Jesus Christ. He was first and foremost a teacher and all the world his classroom. The simplicity of this striking statue evokes the notion of Christ standing in front of people explaining his message. His right hand is raised in a gesture that signifies the profundity of what he is saying. Carved from elm, a wood that symbolises dignity and faithfulness in Early Christian Art, virtues that are inherent to the teaching profession.

Christ Teaching 1958

Elm 169 cm MIC collection

St Brigid 1958 Spanish Chestnut 169 cm

St Brigid, both Celtic goddess and Catholic Saint, is clearly depicted here as one of Ireland’s patron saints along with St Patrick and St Colmcille. She is characterised here by the fluidity of stance in which she proudly holds a minature of a church with both hands. Her expression is one of serenity and calm assurance in what she is about. Beautifully rendered in Spanish chestnut wood, St Brigid invokes a strong sense of unfaltering wisdom and strength.

St Colmcille, one of the three Patron Saints of Ireland, is also the Patron Saint of Bookbinders and is thought to have transcribed more than 300 valuable manuscripts in his lifetime. Along with St Patrick and St Brigid, St Colmcille initiated the movement known as ‘peregrinatio pro Christo’ or ‘emigration in adventure for Christ’ that saw monks going into voluntary exile as missionaries in Britain and Europe. The island of Iona is where St Colmcille is associated with (where he was known as St Columba), and his legacy is one of scholarship and dedication to the written word. He is depicted here with both arms outstretched as if he is teaching or explaining some concept.

St Colmcille

1958

Carved Wood 169 cm MIC collection

In

Principio

High Cross 1977 Pitchpine 255 x 51 cm MIC collection

The Christian cross as a Christian symbol has its roots in ancient paganism. It symbolised philosophical and cosmological concepts since time immemorial and its ubiquitous presence is proof of the fundamentally universal nature of the cross. In this striking narrative sculpture, Imogen Stuart has seamlessly fused man and cross as being inextricably linked and that acknowledges a radical embracing of suffering, as well as being a symbol of transformation. Her use of Ogham on the back of the sculpture, Ireland’s ancient script, quotes the beginning of St John’s Gospel with the words ‘In Principio’ – ‘in the beginning’.

This maquette cast in bronze is a depiction of Pope John Paul II sitting on a seat bending over to embrace two little children kneeling before him. Imogen Stuart has said symbolism sometimes happens when a work is finished. Here, we can see the Pope’s back resembles a tortoise shape. In Hindu mythology the tortoise is the bridge between heaven and earth, which the Pope is, and the word Pontiff translates to bridge builder. A very large scale sculpture, Monument to Pope John Paul II (1986), is located in Maynooth.

Maquette for Pope John Paul II & Children 1978

Bronze (Edition of 7) 25.5 x 15 x 36 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

Self Portrait

1983 Sheet Bronze 41 x 39 cm

National Self Portrait Collection, University of Limerick

The National Self Portrait Collection is housed in the University of Limerick. In 1983, when this made made, it was the first self portrait in 3D for the University collection. It is a striking work in sheet bronze with two faces, two sides, the artist and the other. One looks up for inspiration and the other looks down for creation.

Hands are used in many art forms and, with the the exception of the human face, have been most often used to express human feeling and emotions. In this granite hand you can almost sense the feeling of power in the hand.

Hand 1983

Granite 54 x 28 x 13 cm AIB Collection

Tree of All Seasons

1984 (maquette, not made)

Cast Iron 41 x 30.5 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

Trees of life are recounted in fiction, folklore and culture. They connect all forms of creation and promote health and well-being. This unique work in cast iron has four sections, each representing a different season. For Imogen Stuart, the tree of all seasons evokes the good things in life, with each season bringing its own beauty. Here we see nature at its best with images of blossoms, birds, trees and a man resting under a tree, perhaps after a hard day’s work or just for recreation.

The Catholic response to the Penal Laws, introduced in 1696, was to take their faith underground. This brought the emergence of mass rocks, mass paths, hedge schools and the penal cross. Usually made of wood, this cross was small, portable and easily hidden. With the success of the Catholic Emancipation Act 1829, penal strictures were removed. However, there was a second rise in the use of penal crosses during the years of the Great Famine, 1845-49. Imogen Stuart made this maquette for the large Penal Cross in Oregon Pine at Lough Derg Basilica, Co. Donegal.

Maquette for Penal Cross 1988

Bronze 38 x 8 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

Dolmen Hands

1988

Caen Stone 35 x 36 x 11.5 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

Here the artist again uses hands; for her they act as a vehicle for ideas and emotions. This is constructed in three parts each part a hand. Two hands stand upright symbolising man as creator and constructor, with the third resting across them, symbolising healing and protection and forms the shape of a dolmen. This was a maquette for a large commission The Arch of Peace (1989) in Cavan, which related to cross-border violence and the hope of peace.

Lovers was commissioned by the Arts Council of Ireland for the exhibition ‘Tokens’, which toured around secondary schools. This piece was first carved in yew wood and then cast in bronze. The artist explains that these hands belong to two persons, rather like a pair of lovers in an embrace and symbolises love or affection.

Stuart believes hands to be a powerful expression of emotion and ideas and in many of her ‘Stations of the Cross’, she expressed the Passion of Christ almost entirely through the image of hands.

Lovers (tokens)

1990 Bronze 36 x 20 x 15 cm Collection of the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon

Drawing for holy water font, Knock

This is one of a set of 18 drawings the artist made for holy water fonts that she then carved in stone relief at Knock in Portugese Limestone, (1991). All of the drawings and fonts depict scenes from the bible and the lives of the saints connected to water. In this lovely pencil drawing we see the hand dipping into the holy water font, underneath a lovely gold circle which features in all of the drawings.

Imogen Stuart created a number of bronze portrait heads. President Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, sat in her studio for her portrait as did the late politician, Sean MacBride. Not only does Imogen Stuart capture a realistic representation in these portrait heads but also manages to capture their personality. This bust is of Barry McGovern, the well-known Irish stage, film and television actor who has had a long association with the work of Samuel Becket.

Portrait Head of Barry McGovern

1992 Bronze 46 x 23 cm Imogen Stuart collection

The Psalm

1993 Cedarwood 123 x 92 cm MIC collection

Cedarwood is a very durable timber, quite often used in biblical times. Imogen Stuart has said it is a wonderful material to work with as it carves beautifully.

In the figurative language of the Bible the hand is often mentioned, particularly the right hand, as a symbol of power and strength. This is a beautiful carving with a hand resting on the landscape and for the artist symbolises blessing and protecting the land.

The Scholar and the Blackbird has been displayed in two public places of learning, befitting one of its functions as a student reading bench. It was displayed in the library of Saint Columba’s College, Dublin, from 2002 to 2009. Then, it was moved to MIC Limerick. This piece reflects Stuart’s interest in early Irish manuscripts. It is carved from old pitchpine rafters and its height and narrowness bring to mind a totem pole. Three sides of the column feature a translation from old Irish, of a ‘marginal poem’ of the ninth century which mentions the blackbird and cuckoo in song. On the fourth side, images are carved from the poem of a scholar holding a scroll and a blackbird overhead.

The Scholar and the Blackbird

1996

Pitchpine 246 x 117 x 117 cm MIC collection

Monument to Love 1996

Teak 13 x 61 x 20.5 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

Imogen Stuart, similar to expressionist sculptors Ernst Barlach and Kathe Kollwitz, often uses hands to express emotion. Here the hands of two lovers join palm to palm in a familiar, trusting and intimate gesture. It depicts an enduring relationship and the choice of medium, one of the most durable woods, teak, reinforces the meaning of a ‘Monument to Love’.

This barkcloth from Uganda is a versatile material. A little blackbird is perched on the top right handside and a little figure sits on a ladder under a tree, reading. On either side of the cloth, the artist uses her lettering skills she learned at the Akademie in Munich as a student. The words, from a lovely poem The Scribe written by an Irish monk in the ninth century, are in Irish on the left side and English on the right.

Barkcloth Arch 1996

Barkcloth 246 x 258.5 cm MIC collection

Visual Resume 1997 Etching

Pen and ink 69 x 74 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

This beautiful sketch is, as the title suggests, a visual resume of Imogen Stuarts work up to 1997. Here we see wonderful sketches for many of her larger commissions. It is a glimpse of her life’s work through a frame. The personal comments by the artist adds a very touching and personal meaning to this work.

Wilhelma is the subject of a story Imogen Stuart wrote back in 1950 about Noah’s ark. Over 45 years later she made Wilhelma for The Ark in Dublin’s Temple Bar for children to enjoy.

This sculpture beautifully illustrates how a work of art can form part of a child’s world. Designed so that children can sit on her, Wilhelma the Tortoise, carries her good memories carved on her back. Those of the bison and the mammoth and the moment the rainbow appeared on Noah’s ark as a dove brought back an olive branch.

Wilhelma had some bad memories of the ark but like any meritorious fairytale, her good memories win the day.

Wilhelma the Tortoise 1997

Mahogany

74 x 123 x 43.5 cm

The Ark, Temple Bar, Dublin

Plaque of Yehudi Menuhin

1998 Bronze 51 x 43.5 x 2.5 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

Music is one of Imogen Stuart’s great passions and has been a constant in her studio as she worked. She has said it is like sunshine for a bird, and for her makes things unproblematic; it gives her a flow. This beautiful imaginative bronze plaque honours the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin, with his head and two violins interwoven.

On arriving in Ireland in 1950 Imogen Stuart lived with her husband’s family in Glendalough, where one of the most important sites of monastic ruins in Ireland is located. St Kevin, the patron saint lived the life of a hermit with an extraordinary closeness to nature and was also synonymous with the blackbird. This beautiful carving sees St Kevin reaching out from what we assume are his cell walls and very tenderly holds the blackbird in his hand. According to legend the blackbird lays her eggs and hatches them all the while St Kevin holds his outstretched hand.

St Kevin

and

Blackbird

the

1998 Pitchpine 61.5 x 39 x 28 cm Imogen Stuart collection

The

Psalm No 8 2005

Indian paper and wood 300 x 100 cm MIC collection

This symbolic ladder, made from wood and Indian paper, symbolises the connection between heaven and earth. Here again we see the artist’s skill in lettering where she has written prayers on each piece of paper which then act as steps.

Imogen Stuart has an innate respect for and a technical versatility with the many different materials she uses, wood being her favourite medium. The subject in Surprise seems to be peeping out at their surroundings from a place of shelter, ready to reveal themselves at any chosen time. The sense of sight is given prime importance in this scene and the deeply carved eyes of the person are the only complete facial feature shown.

Surprise 2005

Teak

26 x 28 x 8.25 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

Mother Bathing Child

2005

Teak 24 x 30 x 9 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

In this lovely intimate work, we see the artist has carved the figure of the mother and child into the block of wood which allows the block become more part of the sculpture. She has been a long admirer of primitive art; this is evident in this little plaque where mother bathes her child.

Imogen Stuart made small works in wood and bronze for larger commissions. This is a lovely carving in teak of an angel, Methos. She worked on preserving and sculpting works with the Carmelite Community and created Methos the Angel of Peace (2008) for the bell tower of St Teresa’s Church, Clarendon Street, Dublin where it appears to be floating and watching over the crowds below. It was commissioned to celebrate a new era of peace in Ireland, brought about by the peace process in Northern Ireland.

Methos 2006

Teak 50 x 34 x 10 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

Homage

2007

Carrara Marble 72 x 53 x 30 cm

Imogen Stuart collection on loan to MIC

This work is carved out of pure white Carrara marble also called Michelangelo marble. It is modern and abstract in style and, as the title suggests, it is a show of respect or honour.

This portrait bust was executed in 2008 and is similar in style to her other portrait heads. Brian Fallon is one of Ireland’s foremost art critics, was Chief Critic of The Irish Times for 35 years and its Literary Editor for 11 years. He is author of many books on Irish artists and author of Imogen Stuart Sculptor, published in 2002.

Portrait Head of Brian Fallon 2008 Bronze 41 x 13 x 20 cm Imogen Stuart collection

Symbolon 2010

Teak 35.5 x 14 x 10 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

Imogen Stuart’s feeling for material, her ability to respond to wood and bring out its essential quality, is evident in this little sculpture. She has managed to capture the pair in a tender warm embrace in this simple carving.

This work in marble depicts two leaves resting together, with the engraving ‘Heart Speaks Unto Heart’ carved around the edge of one leaf. These are the words Cardinal John Henry Newman (1800-1890) chose as his motto for his coat of arms when he became Cardinal in 1879. For him, it reflects the belief that the search for truth is only fostered heart by heart, soul by soul, and friend by friend.

Heart Speaks

Unto

Heart

2012 Marble 16 x 50 x 42 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

I and Thou 2014

Wicklow granite on metal stand

182 x 47 x 50 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

The artist has made this work in small scale in bronze. This large granite work shows a peep hole on one side and an eye on the other. It is the story of two prisoners in solitary confinement; the moment they look through the peephole in their cells they caught each other’s eye forming an ‘I and thou’ relationship.

The hands create an arch, providing protection and shelter to the people below. This represents the protection and shelter Catherine McAuley’s first House of Mercy (and later the religious order of Sisters of Mercy) offered to homeless and poor women and girls. The shelter and protection Catherine McAuley provided is her greatest legacy and what better way to remember her.

In memory of Catherine McAuley

c2014 (maquette, not made) Bronze 32 x 13 x 10 cm Imogen Stuart collection

The Promise 2015

Portland Stone 112 x 52 x 11 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

Here we see a rainbow being held up by a pair of hands above receding flood water. The rainbow that appeared after the great flood that Noah built his ark to withstand, signified God’s promise to never destroy the world again by water. The presence of the hands at the centre of the piece convey a sense of protection and add an element of humanity to the well-known religious scene.

Again we see how Imogen Stuart understands her material. Here is an intimate depiction of a couple, their heads leaning together as they embrace. It is created in a very simple style and the figures are carved in low relief. This simple sculpture is one of Imogen Stuart’s late works and featured in the RHA exhibition 2022.

Friends 2020

Portugese Limestone 89 x 61 x 12 cm

Imogen Stuart collection

In the last number of years Imogen Stuart has been casting small, almost medallion-shaped, pieces in a celtic style reminiscent of her larger outputs. These little bronzes are spontaneous, have real charm and she gets enormous satisfaction creating them.

Left to right: Scholar Writing; St Francis and the wolf of Gubbio; St Killian and monks set sail for Wurzburg; Madonna and Child; Madonna, Jesus and human child; In Principio; Madonna and Child

Imogen Stuart: Biography

1927 Born 25 May in Berlin. Daughter of Bruno E. Werner, acclaimed art critic and writer, and Katharina Werner (née Kluger)

1930 9 March sister Sibylle born, her only sibling

1932-40 Attends school in Berlin

1939-45 World War II

1940-41 Evacuated to Bavaria

1941-42 Returns to Berlin 1943-45 Evacuated to Vienna

1945-50 Becomes student of German expressionist sculptor, Professor Otto Hitzberger, Upper Bavaria. Meanwhile, the family lives nearby in Grainau.

1946 Carves her first Madonna and accepts her first commission from her patron, Willi Daume

1949-50 Visits Ireland

1950 Woodcarving of St Brendan Discovering America shown in RHA and sold

1951 10 September marries sculptor Ian Stuart

1951-61 Couple live at Laragh Castle, Glendalough, Co. Wicklow with Iseult Stuart (née Gonne) and Francis Stuart’s mother ‘Ninni’.

1952 2 June first daughter born, named Aoibheann

1953 7 November second daughter Siobhán born

1955 7 December Aisling, third daughter born

1960 Receives joint Macaulay scholarship. Attends classes with husband at the HFBK Berlin with Professor Bernhard Heiliger and remains in Berlin for one year.

1961 Family move to Sandycove, Co. Dublin

1962 Exhibits at Salzburg Biennale

1964 Father Bruno E. Werner dies

1966 Her sculptural representation of the Yeats poem The Fiddler of Dooney unveiled at the official opening of Stillorgan Shopping Centre – the first of its kind in Ireland

1968 Official unveiling by Gulf Oil of St Brendan Discovering America in copper which stands 21 feet high facing the sea at Bantry Bay; This was a joint work with husband Ian Stuart.

1970-71 Family lives in Berlin

1971 Badly injured in road accident and convalesces for four months

1972 Separates from husband Ian Stuart and returns to Ireland. Completes Stations of the Cross for Ballintubber Abbey

1973 Mother Katharina Werner (née Kluger) dies

1976 Official unveiling at Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin of Pangur Bán, a sculpture group inspired by the Irish ninth-century poem and carved from pitchpine that was over 300 years old

1987 Pope John Paul II and Children (bronze) is made for Maynooth Library as monument to the 1979 papal visit

1988 10 September: daughter Siobhán (Pussy) dies in a car accident, leaving three young sons

1998 Liebe Fragt Nicht Warum broadcast on German television, a 45 minute documentary on Imogen Stuart’s life and work

1998 Portrait head of former President Mary Robinson is exhibited in Aras an Uachtaráin after an official unveiling

2020 Installation of Pangur Bán in Áras an Uachtaráin

2022 Public sculpture Stele, made from Wicklow granite, unveiled by President Michael D. Higgins, in Sandycove, Co Dublin.

Selected Exhibitions

1949 – Present Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition

1959 Joint exhibition (with Ian Stuart) of church art, Dawson Gallery, Dublin

1962 Salzburg Biennale Christlicher Künst der Gegenwart

1963 Irish Exhibition of Living Art, Dublin

1972 Oireachtas Art Exhibition, Dublin

1973 Retrospective Exhibition in conjunction with Oireachtas Exhibition, Trinity College, Dublin. Receives an award

1974 Sacred Heart in the Home Barrenhill Gallery, Co. Dublin

1980 Sacred Heart for the Home, Foxrock Church, Dublin

1983 National Self Portrait Collection, Limerick. Self Portrait Exhibition, National Gallery, Dublin

1987 Irish Women Artists from the Eighteenth Century to the Present Day, Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dubin

1988 Figurative Image, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin

1988-99 Aer Rianta Gateway to Art, Dublin Airport

1990-98 Royal Hibernian Academy, Banquet Exhibition

1992 Retrospective Exhibition, The Square, Tallaght, Co. Dublin 1996 Women Sculptors Solomon Gallery, Dublin 1997 Little Sculptures Solomon Gallery, Dublin 1997-98 Christmas Group Exhibition, Solomon Gallery, Dublin 2017-18 Exhibition at Kylemore Abbey Notre Dame Global Centre, Co Galway 2022 Featured in Making In symposium in collaboration with Joseph Walsh Studio, Co. Cork

Awards

1960 Travelling Scholarship at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Berlin 1966 Architectural Award, Southampton 1972 Oireachtas Art Exhibition Award

1981 Elected member of Aosdána

1982 Elected Associate Member of Royal Hibernian Academy 1983-91 Elected committee member of Aosdána 1989-91 Member of adjudicating panel of the Business Face of Dublin Award, organised by the Chamber of Commerce

1990 Elected full member of the Royal Hibernian Academy 1993 Attends the 1st Conference of the National Academies of Fine Arts of Europe as a representative of the RHA at Santiago de Compostela in Spain

1994 Registers in the Artifacts Artists Register, a comprehensive listing of artists, craftspeople and photographers in Ireland, which is accessible worldwide

1997 Recieves the D. O’Sullivan Graphic Supplies Ltd Award (RHA) 1999 Receives the ESB Keating McLoughlin Award (RHA) 2000 Elected Professor of Sculpture by the RHA 2002 Honorary doctorate degree awarded by Trinity College, Dublin Retrospective exhibition at RHA 2004 Honorary doctorate degree awarded by University College, Dublin 2005 Honorary doctorate degree awarded by NUI Maynooth

2010 Presented with the McAuley Medal by President Mary McAleese on behalf of Mary Immaculate College 2015 Elected Saoi of Aosdána, bestowed for singular and sustained distinction in the creative arts 2018 Awarded the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Imogen Stuart: Bibliography

Books thesis

Fallon, Brian: An Age of innocence, (Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1998).

Fallon, Brian: Irish Art, 1830-1960 (Appletree Press, Belfast, 1994).

Finlay, Sarah: National Self-portrait Collection, Volume 1:1979-1989 (University of Limerick Press, 1989).

Fitzgerald, Alison: The Via Crucis by Imogen Stuart RHA (Unpublished MA thesis, two vols, University College, Dublin, 1993).

Forristal, Desmond: Stations of the Cross by Imogen Stuart, with photographs by Pete Smith (Colombia Press, Dublin, 2001).

Harbison, Peter, Honan Potterton and Jeanne Sheehy, Irish Art and Architecture (Thames and Hudson 1978).

Hill, Judith: Irish Public Sculpture: a History (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2000).

Hurley Richard: Irish Church Architecture in the Era of Vatican II (Dominican Publications, Dublin, 2001)

Irish Women Artists: from the 18th Century to the Present Day (exhibition catalogue, National Gallery of Ireland and Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, 1987).

Killinan, Lord: Shell Guide to Ireland, revised by Peter Harbison (Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1989).

O’Sullivan, Valerie: Sacred Moments (Veritas, Dublin, 1998).

Brian Fallon: Imogen Stuart Sculptor (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2002).

Catalogues, articles, interviews, miscellaneous

Unsigned: Imogen Werner, Der Holz, und Steinbildhauer (Germany, Summer 1951).

Salkeld, C.F.: Two young Irish carvers (Ireland of the Welcomes, September 1953).

Unsigned: Church sculpture by Ian and Imogen Stuart (pamphlet published by Dolmen Press, Dublin, for Dawson Gallery, 1959).

White, James: Important Exhibition of Irish Sculpture (Irish Press, 28 June 1959).

FitzGerald, Marion: Profile: Ian and Imogen Stuart (Irish Times, 27 February 1960).

Cooke, Harriet: Harriet Cooke talks to Imogen Stuart (interview, Irish Times ,1 May 1973).

Unsigned: The monk and his cat (Ireland of the Welcomes, July-August 1978).

Charlton, Maureen: A sculptor talks about her work (Martello magazine, No.2, Summer 1983).

Wetzel, Christoph: Imogen Stuart (Humanis, Belser Verlag, Stuttgart and Zürich, 1986).

Charlton, Maureen: A sculptor talks about her work (Irish Press May 1987).

Robinson, Liam: Imogen – you may have knelt before her work (Irish Press, 20 May 1987).

Forristal, Fr Desmond: The Pope John sculpture (Furrow, Maynooth, October 1987).

Walker, Dorothy: Irish Women Artists, exhibition catalogue (National Gallery and Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, 1987).

Grehan, Ida: Weeping with the stone carvers (Catholic Herald, 21 October 1988).

Lutherische Kirche in Irland (Gemeinderbrief Evangel, September 1998).

Stuart, Imogen: Notes on the life of a sculptor (Milltown Studies 22, Dublin, 1988).

Fallon, Brian: Sculpted world at Sandycove (Artists in the Studio series, Irish Times, 15 March 1990).

Hurnhaus, Nadira: Imogen Stuart, Bildhauerin, Dublin (Das Munster, Heft 24, Schnell and Steiner, Munich and Zürich, 1991).

O’Donovan, Katie: Art transplants (Image magazine, Dublin, October 1991).

Fallon, Brian: Rooted style, strong substance (Review of retrospective exhibition at The Square, Tallaght, Co. Dublin; Irish Times, 4 July 1992).

Unsigned: Sculptural works by Imogen Stuart (booklet, Orchard Press, Dublin, 1993).

Unsigned: Tokens, exhibition catalogue (Arts Council of Ireland, Dublin, September 1993).

Unsigned: The Honan Chapel at University College, Cork (Irish Architect, July-August 1997).

Fallon, Brian: Imogen Stuart Speaks’ (Ceide, Vol. 3, No. 2, December 1999 – January 2000).

Fallon, Brian: Imogen Stuart Standing Stone (Irish Arts Review (2002) 2019, vol 36 (4)

Robinson, Kate: Imogen Stuart Sculptor (Irish Jesuit Studies(Dublin 2002, vol 91).

McDonagh, Enda: Beauty, Art & Theology: For Imogen Stuart at 80 (November 2007)

McBride, Stephanie: From Shadow to Light (Irish Arts Review (2008) vol 25 (2)

Duncan, Pamela: Imogen Stuart, Edna O’Brien and William Trevor elected Saoithe. (Irish Times 16 September 2015 – retrieved 14 April 2020).

Scally, Derek: President honours ‘genius’ of Imogen Stuart (Irish Times 4 September 2010 – retrieved 1 April 2021).

Boland, Rosita: A life in stone: Sculptor Imogen Stuart reflects on her life and work (Irish Times 2 October 2021).

Scally, Derek: The Last Living Prussian An Irishman’s Diary, (Irish Times 23 May, 2022)

Films and Radio

Heart of Stone, documentary directed by Hugh Spencer-Philips and scripted by Jack Dowling, Celtic Film Productions, 1964. Length: 25 minutes.

The Pope and Children, produced by Karios Productions, 1998 Liebe Fragt Nicht Warum, documentary produced and directed by Dagmar Wittmers; shown on Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, 15 June 1998 (repeated 28 August 2000).

Length: 45 minutes.

Snapshots, interview with Carrie Crowley, RTE Radio 1, February 2000. Length: one hour. Would You Believe? - Sculpting for her Supper, produced by Eleanor Cunney, shown on RTE 1, 6 June 2000. Length: 25 minutes.

Miriam Meets, interview with Miriam O’Callaghan, (RTE Radio 1, 20 May 2012)

Imogen Stuart – Dealbhóir, Harvest Films, TG4 (2016)