Late last year, the Changing Ireland Galleries were officially launched at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, marking the biggest expansion of public galleries at the National Museum of Ireland in over two decades.

Featuring hundreds of political, social and cultural objects from the Museum’s 20th and 21st Century Collections, these extraordinary and everyday objects have been witness to the last 150 years. On entering the galleries, visitors are invited to reflect on the objects and consider the question, ‘Cad Is Ann Éire Dar Leat?’ (‘What Is Ireland to You?’).

In keeping with the museum’s desire to develop dynamic and engaging exhibits, the galleries are designed to accommodate regular changes in the display, which gives the public unprecedented access to the collection and supports the long-term conservation of the objects.

Highlights of the collection

The extraordinary work of ceramic artist Kathleen Cox (1904-1972) makes up part of the collections. Kathleen spent the first seven years of her life in China, where its culture made a lasting impression on her. Kathleen’s family moved to Ireland in 1911 and she later studied in the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. She studied under master sculptor Oliver Sheppard – who is best known for creating the statue of Cú Chulainn in Dublin’s GPO.

Kathleen won the RDS art prize on three occasions in 1925, 1926 and 1927. The prize money allowed her to spend time in Paris, where she studied at the Académie des Beaux-Arts. In 1929, Kathleen and her college friend Stella Rayner opened their pottery studio at 7 Schoolhouse Lane in Dublin city. There, they both developed their practice and fired their wares in an electric kiln – the first of its kind in Ireland.

In 1931, Kathleen staged an exhibition in their studio, where she displayed and sold her ceramics. Stella held onto one of the pieces displayed in this exhibition and later donated it to the National Museum of Ireland in 1997. The figure, which is titled ‘A Woman Carrying Something’, depicts a woman concealing something beneath her grey shawl, which is hand-painted with black trim.

Womanhood became a major theme in Kathleen’s work and her figures often represented women as mothers, workers and spiritual beings. Kathleen continued to exhibit her works at the RDS, Royal Hibernian Academy and at the Tailteann Games art exhibition in 1932. She also created movie posters and more functional ceramics such as cups, saucers and bowls. Kathleen’s works are part of the new permanent galleries in the National Museum of Ireland.

Feature image from left to right: Fruit Seller (1932-3) by Kathleen Cox (DC:1997.69) © National Museum of Ireland, Bust of a Woman (1930s) by Kathleen Cox (DC:1944.238) © National Museum of Ireland, Woman Carrying Something (1931) by Kathleen Cox (DC:1997.68) © National Museum of Ireland

Find out more at www.museum.ie.