Page 13 - Patrick Scott Scrapbooks

THE ffilSH TIMES, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1958
AN IRISHMAN'S DIARY
" GIRL" PICTURE
Corporation yesterday the minutes of the Museums and Art Com- mittee which oontained the deci- sion of the committee not to buy the painting, " G i r l carrying grasses,'' by the Dublin artist,
Patrick Scott. ·
Earlier the committees had de-
cided by nine vott.S to four not to purchase the painting, which would have cost £105.
Qo
Irish Art In New York
81r-W e were extremely inter- ested in the coverage m Dublin Evening Mail of the ac- quisition by the Museum of Modern Art of a painting by Patrick Scott, "Woman Carrying Grasses." We think your readers might be interested in knowing.
l10wever, that this is not the first Irish work we have acquired. In Hi56, the Museum of Modern Art bought an oil painting entitled "The Glade" <1882J by Roderick o·conor <1860-1940l, an Irishman who worked ln Paris, where he lived from 1883 until his death.
Therefore. Mr. Scott's painting· is the second by an Irishman to become part of our collection.- Elizabeth Shaw, Publicity Direc- tor, The Museum of Modern Art.
11 West 53rd Street, New York 19.
\...
GRAFTON STREET TAKES A NEW CHRISTMAS LOOK
ON
Invisible Sputniks
traders who had them put up 11.11d
for the kid'S who will from now The Quidnunc Award. for i:>ublin until Chr,istmas be swamliing in to
Chrisnmas street decorations (1t con- sists of a personally-conducted tour I down Moore street) for 1958 2oe11 to Henry street traders. Close run-- ners-up are the George's s\treet and Capel str%t girOUJ?5. I am not so ha,ppy about the Grafton street effort.
Last week, a serie,s of complic- ated tubular constructions were strung up along Dublin's most stylis.h shorpping street. The opera- tion had not been more than an hour under way before lhe decora-
tions were christened the Grafton
see the city ligb ts.
Dorothy Macardle.
Sputniks. Thev look quite interest- ing in daylight, but the sad fact is I.hat at night, when street decora- tions should be at their most effec- tive, thev can hardly be seen at all.
Very dis.hea1tening, both for the
Who sent Alderman
'grasses' card?
ALDERMAN Tommy Henderson, "father" of Belfast City Council, is still puzzling over the source of the Christmas card which gave him his biggest
chuckle.
It was simply inscribed "From a ratepayer"-one, apparently, who had noted that it. was the Alderman's protest that led to the Council's rejection of Patrick Scott's £105 picture "Girl Carrying Grasses."
The anonymous sender took the Alderman up on his claim that anyone could turn out su:::h a straight-line drawing in a couple of hours.
The result was a big card, inches tall-Scott's painting was seven-foot high-bearing a copy of the controversial work and the seasonal message: "Girl Carrying Greetings."
Alderman Henderson, a painter himself, tells me that the whole card was hz.nd-done. "It's a very beautiful thing compared with the original," he adds.
This almost seems to give him the last word, after al!.
myself h a v e been pretty busy lately lighting up our principal thorough- fares. Yesterday it was
Grafton Street's turn. And as the elegant melancholy of twilight settled down in its l€isurely way it got quite a shock.
Mrs. Byrne threw the switch and there was more light than that gracious old street has seen these many evenings.
This being a spontaneous outburst of local patriotism I am not going to name the notables who turned up to Creation House to witness the event. The illuminations
shine on. and for all and each, the draper, the furrier, t h e j e w e l l e r . t h e executive. Let that be their reward.
Mingling with tl1e popu- lace. I gathered that some speculation exists as to the precise purpose of the larg.e. angular stars that hang. m t.he middle of the street !lke the nests of some fantastic birds. Do they light UI?·
people were asking, or don t
they?
Fearing t h a t unjust accusations might be cast at the E.S.B. I have ascertained that they do not. Their purpose is to· reflect rather than to illumine.
A lady who. apparently, has been studying the light- ing techniques of the various streets, was heard to
Grafton Street were some- wnat refined.
As time goes on and the spirit of competition spreads around, it may be- come necessary to appoint a lighting critic. Meanwhile it is a heartening thing to be able to bask in the agree- able glow, and to know that somebody still cherished the spirit of Christmas.
All we need now is money.
THE Lord Mayor and declare that the gleams of