Nano Reid (1 March 1900 – 17 November 1981) was an Irish painter who specialised in landscape, figure painting and portraits.

Early life and education

Nano Reid was born Anne Margaret Reid on 1 March 1900, in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, County Louth. She was the eldest of four children of Thomas Reid, publican, and Anne Reid (née Downey). The family home was above their pub in Drogheda, with the family also owning a number of properties in the town and in Dublin. Reid attended school at the Siena Convent, where in addition to being a talented pianist, her skills as a painter developed. Upon leaving school she initially enrolled to train as a nurse at the

Mater Misericordiae University Hospital The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, commonly known as the Mater, is a teaching hospital, on Eccles Street in Phibsborough, Dublin, Ireland. It is managed by Ireland East Hospital Group. The Mater serves as one of two major trauma cente ...

, but left after two months. Her parents were persuaded by their parish priest, Fr Segrave, to allow Nano Reid to attend the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. Whilst there she studied under

Seán Keating Seán Keating (born John Keating, 28 September 1889 – 21 December 1977) was an Irish romantic-realist painter who painted some iconic images of the Irish War of Independence and of the early industrialization of Ireland. He spent two week ...

Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau ...

Patrick Tuohy Patrick Tuohy (27 February 1894 – August 1930) was an Irish portrait, narrative, and genre painter. Early life Patrick Joseph Tuohy was born in Dublin on 27 February 1894, at 77 Lower Dorset Street. His parents were the surgeon, John Jos ...

and Leo Whelan. Nano Reid taught at her old school and a boys' school in Drogheda in 1923. She exhibited for the first time at the

Royal Hibernian Academy The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the Royal Irish Academy, the academy retained the word "Royal" after mo ...

(RHA) in 1925 with three illustrations of poems. Nano Reid exhibited with the RHA periodically until 1968, though never became an academic member. In 1927, as was common with other Irish painters of the time, Nano Reid went to Paris. Whilst there, she attended to the

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière () is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the A ...

for a few months, but the experience doesn't appear to have had an influence on her painting style. She then went to London to attend the Chelsea Polytechnic from 1929 to 1930, which she did not enjoy and after that remained in Ireland.

Artistic career

After returning to Ireland, Nano Reid began to exhibit landscape painting at the RHA. Like other painters of the period, such as Paul Henry, she travelled to the west of Ireland for painting inspiration with her early work showing the landscapes, local people and fisherman of the area. In 1934, she held a solo show at the Society of Dublin Painters at St Stephen's Green. Her second solo show was in 1936 at the Daniel Egan Gallery in Dublin, the show consisted of 53 watercolours and 23 oil paintings. At the request of the Mayor of Drogheda , the collection was rehung in the town. Nano Reid's sister had taken over the family pub, to which she was a regular visitor while living primarily in Dublin. In Dublin she shared a house with her friend Patricia Hutchins. After

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Nano Reid moved to

Fitzwilliam Square Fitzwilliam Square () is a Georgian garden square in the south of central Dublin, Ireland. It was the last of the five Georgian squares in Dublin to be built, and is the smallest. The middle of the square is composed of a private park, which f ...

, sharing with others, including

Pearse Hutchinson Pearse Hutchinson (16 February 1927 – 14 January 2012) was an Irish poet, broadcaster and translator. Childhood and education Hutchinson was born in Glasgow. His father, Harry Hutchinson, a Scottish printer whose own father had left Dublin to ...

. In 1950, Nano Reid and

Norah McGuinness Norah Allison McGuinness (7 November 1901 – 22 November 1980) was an Irish painter and illustrator. Early life Norah McGuinness was born in County Londonderry. She attended life classes at Derry Technical School and from 1921 studied at ...

were selected to represent Ireland at the Venice Biennale of Art. This was the first time Irish artists participated in this international exhibition, which has been supported by th
government of Ireland
since then through a range of departments and agencies responsible for foreign affairs, arts and culture. The Arts Council of Northern Ireland's Chichester Street Gallery, Belfast was the venue for a collection of forty solo works in the summer of 1964. She had previously shown in Belfast as a guest of the

Ulster Society of Women Artists The Ulster Society of Women Artists was founded in 1957 by Gladys Maccabe with the assistance of Olive Henry and others, as there were no arts societies in Northern Ireland that would accept female members. The society aims to"promote and encoura ...

and with the

Irish Exhibition of Living Art The Irish Exhibition of Living Art (IELA; ) was a yearly exhibition of Irish abstract expressionism and avant-garde Irish art that was started in 1943 by Mainie Jellett. Background World War II Ireland During World War II, Ireland maintai ...

Work in collections

* Crawford Art Gallery, Cork * Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda *

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 ...

, Dublin *

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

* The Arts Council of Ireland including *
''Cave of the Firbola''
*
''Wreckage No.1''
* Santa Barbara Museum California * Irish Institute, New York * University of Limerick, IACI O'Malley Collection (1) Donkeys on the Aran Shore, (2) Valley Desmond, Gaugan Barra

Quotes

* A born artist and a born stylist...This young artist from Drogheda has to be saluted as a genius. ** Thomas MacGreevy, ''The Irish Times'', 27 November 1942, p.
link
* One can say, without pretension, that she has her place in European painting. **

Patrick Swift Patrick Swift (1927–1983) was an Irish painter who worked in Dublin, London and the Algarve, Portugal. Overview In Dublin he formed part of the Envoy, A Review of Literature and Art, Envoy arts review / McDaid's pub circle of artistic and l ...

, ''Envoy'', March 1950
read article
. Reid painted Swift's portrait that year. * For my money the best Irish painter, ''mo cheol thú'', a Nano. **

, The Irish Imagination 1959–1971See Brian O’Doherty, The Irish Imagination 1959–1971, 1971 osc Exhib. Cat.- http://www.ricorso.net/rx/az-data/authors/h/Hutchinson_P/life.htm (1971)

References

References and further reading

* Karen Reihill "Gerard Dillon, Art and Friendships" pdf http://www.adams.ie/cat-pdf/20713.pdf * "Irish Art from Nathaniel Hone to Nano Reid: The Drogheda Municipal Art Collection in Context". Dr Denise Ferran. Highlanes Gallery (Drogheda). 2006 * * * * Declan Mallon (1994), ''Nano Reid''. Drogheda, Co. Louth: Sunnyside Publications. *

Envoy, A Review of Literature and Art ''Envoy, A Review of Literature and Art'' was a magazine published in Dublin, Ireland, from December 1949 to July 1951. It was founded and edited by John Ryan. During its brief existence, it published the work of a broad range of writers, I ...

, March 195
read article
* Karen Reihill "Gerard Dillon,Art and Friendships" published by Adams Auctioneers ( www.adams.ie ) Summer Loan Exhibition 2013 http://www.adams.ie/cat-pdf/20713.pdf

External links

Nano Reid images on Artnet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Nano 1900 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Irish painters People from Drogheda Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière Alumni of the National College of Art and Design Artists from County Louth 20th-century Irish women painters