Wexford County Hall Art Collection

D'Oł Venons Nous? Que Sommes Nous? Oł Allons Nous (Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? -
Title of a painting by the French Post-Impressionist Paul Gaugin)

The Wexford County Hall Art Collection follows in a long established tradition of public art collecting in Ireland, beginning with the foundation of the National Gallery of Art, Dublin, in 1854, and soon followed by others in the major cities of Cork (1884) and Belfast (1890). The first municipal art collection in Ireland was the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, founded in 1907, with the remit of displaying 'modern' art. In the decades following Irish independence, there was a notable upsurge in municipal collecting, driven by a strong nationalistic desire to establish a specifically 'Irish' visual culture, and significant provincial collections appeared in Limerick, Waterford and Kilkenny. In more recent times, due to growing public interest in the visual arts, collections have been founded in other Irish towns and cities, including Wexford.

The Wexford County Hall Art Collection was inaugurated soon after the establishment of the County Arts Department in 1994. The latter is charged with the management and co-ordination of the Collection, and in 1995 appointed a Selection and Purchasing Panel for the purpose of acquiring suitable art-works and advising on location and conservation matters. The Committee currently comprises Councillor Lorcan Allen, Cathaoirleach, Wexford County Council, Tony Larkin, Director of Service, Community and Enterprise, Rosaleen Molloy, County Arts Officer, Mairead Furlong, Peter Jordan and Joan Lambert.

Wexford County Council's purchasing policy stipulates that work by both national and international artists may be collected, but in keeping with general practice elsewhere, every effort is made to include that of local artists, whose work is of a sufficiently high standard. Art works for the Collection have been acquired in a number of ways including gifts from members of the public and joint acquisitions with the Arts Council. The majority of pieces however, have been acquired over the years since 1994, using a generous funding allocation provided by Wexford County Council. The Collection is currently on permanent display around the walls of the splendid early nineteenth century, now much refurbished, County Hall building in Wexford town.

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