By Anna Rose Garvey
In this issue we explore three films on the IFI Archive Player that celebrate Irish artists. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, previously the Department of External Affairs, was one of the many state bodies to commission films to be produced on its behalf. The National Film Institute, now the IFI, was a key partner in the creation of these films through the 1940s–1960s, covering subjects deemed culturally worthy and educational. As part of a series of artist profiles commissioned by the Cultural Relations Committee of the Department of External Affairs, a short documentary was made on the Irish cubist painter and stained-glass artist Evie Hone, filmed at her studio in Marley Park, Rathfarnham. In Hallowed Fire: The Art of Evie Hone (1950s), Hone demonstrates the process of working with stained glass and describes her education and upbringing. Although filmed in black and white, there is a sequence in colour at the end which shows off Hone’s colourful stained-glass work to best advantage.
The second film was the directorial début of Academy Award-nominated Irish film-maker Louis Marcus, detailing the work of Cork sculptor and stone-carver Seamus Murphy (RHA). Shot in black and white and incorporating the Shandon Bells as part of the soundtrack, The Silent Art (1958) takes the viewer through Cork city and Ballyvourney, where Murphy’s works are displayed. This film forms part of the wider Louis Marcus Collection launched this year on the IFI Archive Player.
The third film, Patrick Scott: Golden Boy (2003), explores the work of another Cork artist, Patrick Scott, beginning with his Hugh Lane Gallery retrospective in 2002 and tracing his artistic development through the years from his work as an architect and painter. This Mermaid Films tribute documentary, produced by Maria Doyle Kennedy and Andrea Pitt, and directed by Sé Merry Doyle, forms part of the Loopline Collection Volume 1 on the IFI Archive Player.
HALLOWED FIRE: THE ART OF EVIE HONE
1950 / 12 mins
A short documentary about renowned Irish cubist painter and stained-glass artist Evie Hone.
THE SILENT ART
1958 / 14 mins
A film portrait of Cork sculptor Seamus Murphy (RHA).
PATRICK SCOTT: GOLDEN BOY
2003 / 53 mins
A tribute documentary exploring the life and work of Irish painter and architect Patrick Scott.
For a deeper dive into the collections on the IFI Archive Player visit https://ifiarchiveplayer.ie/.
Anna Rose Garvey is Digital Platforms Assistant at the Irish Film Institute.