The Collection began in 1936 when a committee was formed to collect artworks for the gallery. In 1948 a municipal gallery building was constructed to house the collection, as an addition to the Carnegie Free Library and Museum situated in the grounds of the People’s Park, Pery Square, in City Centre Limerick.
LCGA’s collection policy builds on that set out by the founding committee in 1937, which had a principal aim to secure ‘examples of the work of all well-known artists of Irish birth, or of those who have worked in Ireland. ’ The committee also desired that ‘an important section of the gallery be reserved for Limerick men and women who attained distinction in history, literature or the arts’ with another section reserved ‘for paintings in watercolour, drawings, engravings etc.’
LCGA’s Permanent Collection has, as with most collections, grown organically. Its initial drive and direction was given by a combination of artists, business people and politicians. Limerick City Gallery of Art now holds an important and highly significant permanent art collection of over 831 historic and contemporary works from 456 artists. It traces the development of modern Irish art in painting, sculpture, drawing, photography and new media.
The Permanent Collection
The initial rationale for the collecting policy for the Permanent Collection - to collect ‘examples of the work of all well-known artists of Irish birth, or of those who have worked in Ireland’ - remains in place. In recent times the manner in which works are acquired for the collection are now very much in tandem with the gallery’s contemporary exhibition policy. The exhibition programme informs our collection policy and drives our curatorial intent in relation to the works we acquire.
The National Collection of Contemporary Drawing /NCCD
The National Collection of Contemporary Drawing was also begun by a group of local artists and business people of Limerick who donated the proceeds of their initial efforts to LCGA with the proviso that the collection be named the ‘National Collection of Contemporary Drawing’ in 1991. Since then LCGA has taken on the ambition to develop this collection so as to be fully worthy of the title. The collection currently holds over 200 individual artworks and has given the impetus to attract exhibitions specifically dedicated to contemporary drawing in Ireland and abroad.
The Michael O’Connor International Poster Collection
The Michael O’Connor Poster Collection is a singular eclectic gathering of international posters of historical and cultural significance. Comprising of over 2,800 items, the collection was generously donated by avid collector Michael O’Connor.
Any queries related to the Collections please contact: artgallery@limerick.ie or siobhan.oreilly@limerick.ie
