Barbara Dawson (born 26 April 1957) is an Irish author, editor,

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

, gallery director, and curator. She is curator of several art exhibitions including the works of notable artists such as

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

(2009). Dawson is the first female director of the

Hugh Lane Gallery The Hugh Lane Gallery, and originally the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, is an art museum operated by Dublin City Council and its wholly-owned company, the Hugh Lane Gallery Trust. It is in Charlemont House (built 1763) on Parnell Square, Dub ...

, a municipal

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

and "the first known public gallery of

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

in the world" in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. She has been the gallery's director since 1991. She authored several books including ''Hugh Lane Gallery: Director's Choice''.

Education

Dawson graduated from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in history. In recognition of her 2010 contributions to the

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

s, she received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the National College of Art & Design (NCAD), and is an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

at the School of Art History and Cultural Policy,

. In 2019, she was awarded the UCD Alumni Award in Arts & Humanities. She serves as a member of the Dublin City Council's Public Art Advisory Committee, and has been a mentor to women at other Irish museums.

Art gallery career

Dawson's early gallery experiences began with the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

. In 1991, at the age of 34, she became the Director of the

, located in

Parnell Square Parnell Square () is a Georgian square sited at the northern end of O'Connell Street in the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the city's D01 postal district. History Formerly named ''Ruthland Square'', it was renamed after Charles Stewart ...

in Dublin. The gallery is owned by the municipality of Dublin and overseen by Dublin's

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

, to whom Dawson, as gallery director, reports via the City and County Librarian. Dawson has curated notable exhibitions for Hugh Lane Gallery, such as: *

– A Terrible Beauty (with Martin Harrison; 2009) *

Barry Flanagan Barry Flanagan OBE Royal Academy, RA (11 January 1941 – 31 August 2009) was an Irish-Welsh people, Welsh sculptor. He is best known for his bronze statues of hares and other animals. Biography Barry Flanagan was born on 11 January 1941 i ...

on O'Connell Street (2007) *

Hugh Lane Sir Hugh Percy Lane (9 November 1875 – 7 May 1915) was an Irish art dealer, collector and gallery director. He is best known for establishing Dublin's Municipal Gallery of Modern Art (the first known public gallery of modern art in the ...

– 100 Years (2008) *

Richard Tuttle Richard Dean Tuttle (born July 12, 1941) is an American postminimalist artist known for his small, casual, subtle, intimate works. His art makes use of scale and line. His works span a range of formats, from sculpture, painting, drawing, print ...

– Triumphs (with Michael Dempsey; 2010) Dawson acquired Francis Bacon's London studio for the museum in 1998. The 6 meter by 4 meter studio was reconstructed inside the Hugh Lane Gallery to the smallest details, including ceiling, flooring, and dirt. According to '' The Phoenix'', in 2017, Dawson launched a five-year strategy for "doubling visitor numbers, significantly upping funding, undertaking a near €4 m refurbishment programme and purchasing major artworks" from 2018 to 2023.

Theft of ''In The Omnibus''

In June 1992, the year after Dawson became Director of the Hugh Lane Gallery, the painting ''In The Omnibus'' by French artist Honore Daumier was stolen. The theft took place in the afternoon during the hours when the gallery was open to the public. The

Criminal Assets Bureau The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) () is a law enforcement agency in Ireland. The CAB was established with powers to focus on the illegally acquired assets of criminals involved in serious crime. The aims of the CAB are to identify the criminally ...

(CAB) recovered the painting during an investigation in 2013, more than 20 years later. Dawson expressed her delight that the painting had been found. She said "It was such a shock when it was stolen and we had messages of sympathy from galleries and museums in Ireland and around the world."

Author and editor

Dawson has authored and edited multiple books and texts on contemporary and modern art such as: *''

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters * Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for tur ...

in the

'', Dublin (1988); *''Images and Insights: Catalogue of an Exhibition of Works from the Permanent Collection at the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art'', Dublin, 1993 - with Sean O'Reilly, Christina Kennedy, Crista Maria Lerm, Catherine Marshall, Daire O'Connell, and Wanda Ryan Smolin, *''Impressionism in Britain and Ireland'' - with Kenneth McConkey (June 1995); * ''Francis Bacon: Francis Bacon's Studio'' - with Margarita Cappock (July 2001); *''Hugh Lane: Founder of a Gallery of Modern Art for Ireland'', Scala (2008) * ''Francis Bacon: A Terrible Beauty''

Steidl Steidl is a German-language publisher based in Göttingen, Germany. Founded in 1968 by Gerhard Steidl, it publishes photobooks. Overview The company was started by Gerhard Steidl.Bill Kouwenhoven, "Off to see the wizard", ''British Journa ...

(28 February 2010); * ''

: The Spade and The Soufflé'' (Richard Tuttle)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Barbara 1957 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Irish art historians Alumni of University College Dublin Irish women curators Women art historians 21st-century Irish women 20th-century Irish women Irish women academics Irish women non-fiction writers