News

1984, Figure at a Window, Acrylic on canvas

 Ian’s “Figure at a Window” will appear on Richard Burgin’s new novel entitled “Rivers Last Longer”.

1989 Les Musiciens des Rues by Yvonne Alexieff

Please visit Yvonne Alexieff’s slideshow whereby Yvonne has taken the above  image she did of Ian 20 years ago and linked some of her current work involving the cirucus with it.  

Please visit L’univers circassien d’Yvonne Alexieff

Appoximately 90 new images of Ian’s early work dated from 1973 to 1978 will be added to the archive on November 11th.  This will coinicide with the website being launched one year and what would have been Ian’s 50th birthday.  Below are a couple of  images of his early work.

We are pleased to announce that Ian Darragh - paintings, drawings and prints was added to the Art-Guide, a collection of  high quality art history internet resources compiled by Heidelberg  University.

See: Ian’s listing at Art-Guide

Wotartist  has given Ian the following review plus a  gallery of Ian’s images can now be found on the Wotartist website.

By Wotartist Admin - 11 September 2009
A master of both printmaking and painting, Darragh used oils and        acrylics with equal felicity.  A must see.

Ian was added to Who’s Who in Irish Art  located within the Irish Art Encyclopedia early this month.   Below is a partial review written by Neil Collins - Editor of  the Irish Art Encyclopedia. Please visit this site to read the entire mini-review  and biography of Ian.

Ian Darragh (1959-2008)
There is a haunting yet monumental quality about the art of this man. Even his most straightforward pictures have a timeless complexity. His women have a Renaissance stillness about them, but with a modern twist: a sort of mysterious edginess. In a way, he does for portraiture what Giorgio de Chirico does for townscapes - he makes us aware of “something else.” Many of Darragh’s male portraits have a similar Renaissance aura about them, although both the examples shown here are strictly 20th century: shades of Raymond Chandler in Man Speaking on the Telephone, shades of Edward Hopper in Figure at a Window. In any event, a mastery of narrative is evident. Look closely at the mouth of L’Espanogla and see the anger and resignation of a proud woman. Look into the eyes of Man Speaking on the Telephone - have you ever seen a man so torn? These are complex works, magnificently rendered and deeply conceived. What a tragedy for art that Darragh’s prime was restricted to the decade of his twenties, and that illness snuffed out any chance of a come-back.

This is a student self-portrait project on a contemporary artist that  Alexandra Muir, 12 years old from Sydney,  Australia did on one of Ian’s self-portraits.

    CONTEMPORARY STYLE SELF- PORTRAIT
By Alexandra Muir

‘Self-Portrait 07′
Artist: Ian Darragh
Date: 1986
Size: 30cm x 25cm

STRUCTURAL FRAME
In ‘Self-Portrait 07′, I see a solemn man wearing a dark red shirt. He has fair skin and dark eyes. He has short, brown hair on his head and has pale lips. He is in front of a blue background, which is dark at the top of the picture and light near the bottom. The material used for ‘Self-Portrait 07′ is Acrylic on canvas. The composition has been organised very simply, with the artwork starting at Ian Darragh’s shoulders and ending a bit above the top of his head. He is looking to the right a little, although his head is directly facing you.

CULTURAL FRAME
This self- portrait painted by Ian Darragh was created in 1986 in London; he had a studio at the Diorama Arts Centre. In that year, 1986, IBM unveiled the first laptop computer and Challenger Space Shuttle exploded and killed seven astronauts. Ian Darragh was from Ireland and was male. His religion is unknown to me.

SUBJECTIVE FRAME
I really like ‘Self Portrait 07′, by Ian Darragh and I think it shows a lot of Darragh’s painting style. I think it shows a lot of expression and it is very simple. I like the clear outline of his head and shoulders and I like how the background is light at the bottom and gets darker. It makes me feel sad because of the powerful expression on his face. I think when painting ‘Self Portrait 07′ in 1986, Darragh probably felt happy, as there was a cover and feature article about his work in ‘Art Line International Art News’ magazine, and he had lots of exhibitions in Europe and England in that year.

The drawings of the Workman Collection were auctioned off at Ross Auctioner’s in Belfast on April 8th.  These included three works by Ian Darragh that the collector Robert  Workman had in his collection at the time of his death.  To view the full-size version of the images and details, visit the Archive - Album Years 1972-1984 - Thumbnails:  36 & 37.     Another work in the auction was a lithograph entitled Bathing Head that was already  in the archive Thumbnail: 79 .

A sketchbook Ian did while in Paris in 1987 containing 140 images has been added to the archive as a separate album. To view these images visit the Archive - Page 2 - Paris Sketchbook

A collector of Ian’s early work from Northern Ireland has contacted the site and wants to add images of their collection to the archive. Please visit this site again soon to view these new images expected in the archive in March 2009.

Update - May 15, 2009 - This update in the archive for these additional images has been delayed.  They are now expected to be added to the archive in late June 2009.

Update-Oct 31, 2009-These images will be available for viewing in the archive on November 11th.