Professor Thomas Patrick Bodkin (21 July 1887 – 24 April 1961) was an Irish lawyer, art historian,

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individua ...

and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

. Bodkin was Director of the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) 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 o ...

in Dublin from 1927 to 1935 and founding Director of the

Barber Institute of Fine Arts The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham. The Grade I listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert A ...

in Birmingham from 1935 until 1952, where he acquired the nucleus of the collection described by ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'' as "the last great art collection of the twentieth century."

Biography

Bodkin was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, the eldest son of Matthias McDonnell Bodkin, a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

journalist, judge and Member of Parliament. Graduating from the

Royal University of Ireland The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the ''University Education (Ireland) Act 1879'' as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on 27 Apri ...

in 1908 he practised law from 1911 until 1916 while collecting art privately, influenced by his uncle Sir

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 wo ...

. With the death of Lane in the sinking of the

RMS Lusitania RMS ''Lusitania'' (named after the Roman province in Western Europe corresponding to modern Portugal) was a British ocean liner that was launched by the Cunard Line in 1906 and that held the Blue Riband appellation for the fastest Atlantic c ...

in 1915 Bodkin was charged with ensuring that Lane's collection of art was displayed in Dublin – a dispute that would only finally be settled in 1957 and about which Bodkin was to write ''Hugh Lane and his Pictures'' in 1932. Bodkin left the legal profession in 1916 to become a Governor of the

, being appointed Director in 1927. He also served in 1926 on the committee that commissioned the design of the new coinage of the Republic of Ireland from Percy Metcalfe. In 1935 Bodkin left Ireland on being appointed Director of the newly established

and Barber Professor of Fine Art at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

. The funds available to the Barber Institute for the purchase of new works compared favourably even to some national museums and Bodkin was able to make a string of exceptional purchases in the depressed art market around the time of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The collection that in 1935 had numbered just seven works, by 1939 held major pieces such as

Tintoretto Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed wit ...

's ''Portrait of a Youth'' (1554),

Simone Martini Simone Martini ( – 1344) was an Italian painter born in Siena. He was a major figure in the development of early Italian painting and greatly influenced the development of the International Gothic style. It is thought that Martini was a pupil ...

's ''St. John the Evangelist'' (1320),

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...

's ''Tancred and Erminia'' (1634), Whistler's ''Symphony in White No. III'' (1867) and John van Nost the Elder's Equestrian Statue Of George I (circa 1717). Bodkin retired in 1952 but retained control over acquisitions until 1959 – his successor as Director and Professor Ellis Waterhouse wistfully referred to Bodkin's wayward later purchases as "Acts of Bod". Bodkin was also an active broadcaster and author, publishing personal reminiscences and translations of modern

French poetry French poetry () is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France. French prosody and poetics The modern French language does not have a significant stre ...

as well as works of

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

and criticism. In particular, his ''The Approach to Painting'' (1927), an introduction for a popular audience, ran through many editions over the succeeding 30 years. A few years before his death he appeared on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

panel show A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on '' The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as ...

'' Animal, Vegetable or Mineral?'' identifying curiosities from around the world, along with museum curator Hugh Shortt and archaeologist

Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales a ...

. He was awarded the Civil Division of the Order of St. Gregory the Great for services to his church.Unlabelled press clipping of contemporary obituary, in Royal Birmingham Society of Artists archives A bust of Bodkin, previously exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1958, was donated to the Barber by its sculptor, Sir Charles Wheeler, President of the Royal Academy and a personal friend of Bodkin's, on the latter's death. Bodkin's remains were interred in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...

, Dublin. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in March 1960 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

at the BBC’s Gosta Green Studios in Birmingham.

References

External links

some correspondence from 1933–1948 by Bodkin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodkin, Thomas Patrick 1887 births 1961 deaths Irish art historians Lawyers from Dublin (city) People from Birmingham, West Midlands People educated at Clongowes Wood College Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery Knights of St. Gregory the Great People educated at Belvedere College Museum people from Dublin (city)