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

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and

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 individual ...

who became an

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 ...

and

curator A curator (from , 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 particular ins ...

. Bodkin was Director of 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 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 listed building, Grade I listed Art Deco building was desi ...

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

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

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

Biography

Bodkin was born into an upper-middle-class

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

family 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 ...

, the eldest of the six children of Arabella (née Norman) and

Matthias McDonnell Bodkin Matthias McDonnell Bodkin (8 October 1850 – 7 June 1933) was an Irish nationalist politician and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Anti-Parnellite representative for North Roscommon, 1892–95 ...

, a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

journalist, judge and Member of Parliament. His brother Matthias, Jr. became a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest and author, while two of his sisters became nuns. Bodkin was educated at

Belvedere College Belvedere College Society of Jesus, S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a fee-paying voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. Formally established in 1832 at Hardwicke Street in north inner city Dublin, the school was ...

and

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...

, then graduated from the

Royal University of Ireland The Royal University of Ireland was a university in Ireland that existed from 1879 to 1909. It was founded in accordance with the University Education (Ireland) Act 1879 as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the ...

in 1908 with a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL or B.C.L.; ) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL contin ...

degree. He was called to the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland () is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, commonly c ...

in 1911 and practised law while collecting art privately, influenced by his close friend 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 ...

. With the death of Lane in the

sinking Shipwrecking is any event causing a ship to wreck, such as a collision causing the ship to sink; the stranding of a ship on rocks, land or shoal; poor maintenance, resulting in a lack of seaworthiness; or the destruction of a ship either intent ...

of the RMS ''Lusitania'' 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 Percy Metcalfe, CVO, RDI (14 January 1895 Wakefield – 9 October 1970 Fulham Hospital, Hammersmith, London), (often spelled ''Metcalf'' without "e") was an English artist, sculptor and designer. He is recognised mostly for his coin designs ...

. In 1917, Bodkin married Aileen Cox, with whom he had five daughters. 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 in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. 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 (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 ...

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

Tintoretto Jacopo Robusti (late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594), best known as Tintoretto ( ; , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized th ...

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

Simone Martini Simone Martini ( – July 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 p ...

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

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

'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 Sir Ellis Kirkham Waterhouse (16 February 1905 – 7 September 1985) was an English art historian and museum director who specialised in Roman baroque and English painting. He was Director of the National Galleries of Scotland (1949–52) a ...

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 literature, Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France. French prosody and poetics The modern French language does not ...

as well as works of

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, 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. Tradit ...

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. In his final years, he was a frequent guest on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

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

'' Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?'', identifying curiosities from around the world. Bodkin appeared on the programme six times, beginning with the first episode and ending with the penultimate episode of its original run. In the latter episode, one of only a few which survive in the BBC's archives, he appeared on the panel alongside fellow gallery curator Hugh Shortt and archaeologist

Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, CH Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire, CIE Military Cross, MC Territorial Decoration, TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeolo ...

, the programme's regular expert panellist. Bodkin was a devout

who is said to have hung the papal flag from his house in Dublin on appropriate holidays. He was awarded the Civil Division of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...

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 died in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

on 24 April 1961, at the age of 73. His remains were interred in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () 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 Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...

, 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 ...

at the BBC's Gosta Green Studios in Birmingham.

References

External links

* Works by Thomas Bodkin located at the Trinity College Dublin Library as part of th
Cuala Press Collection

some correspondence from 1933–1948 by Bodkin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodkin, Thomas Patrick 1887 births 1961 deaths Academics of the University of Birmingham Alumni of the Royal University of Ireland Irish art historians Irish barristers Irish expatriates in England Lawyers from Dublin (city) 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) Lawyers awarded knighthoods