In its brief, seven-and-a-half year history, the Irish Museum of Modern Art has built up a substantial permanent collection, currently numbering approximately 800 works and growing all the time. Since last June, the Museum has instituted a policy of highlighting its own collection in the building, devoting the whole West Wing to its display. That selection of work is currently being rotated, to coincide with the launch today of the IMMA Website.
The new display will include, among many others, pieces by the Yugoslav performance artist Marina Abramovic, by Gilbert & George, by painters Mark Joyce, Nick Miller, Colin Middleton, Patrick Hennessy, two of Maria Simmonds-Gooding's beautiful plaster reliefs, screenprints by Rachel Whiteread and a typically witty sculpture by Bill Woodrow. There is also a nice juxtapositon of an archetypal Paul Henry landscape, Turfstacks on the Bog, with Caroline McCarthy's video installation, Greetings, in which the camera is fixed on a view of Sugerloaf Mountain while the artist jumps repeatedly into the frame, trying to put herself, literally and figuratively, into the picture. It's a good demonstration of how old and new can interact.
The estimated total of 800 works in the permanent collection does not actually give the full picture. That figure doesn't account for the itemised content of portfolios, a notable example being the 183 individual pieces that make up Kathy Prendergast's City Drawings. Nor does it take into account the significant holdings of work on short or long-term loan. Then there is the remarkable Madden-Arnholz Collection of Old Master prints, donated to the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in 1987, now curated by IMMA, and comprising approximately 1,300 works in itself. It may seem anachronistic in a museum of modern art, but it has already proved to be a valuable resource. While it has benefited from the fact that it is the logical destination for some sizeable private collections, like those of Gordon Lambert or Vincent and Noreen Ferguson, the Museum has also established itself on the scene in a way that counts most for artists and commercial galleries: by buying work directly from galleries. That was quite a conscious decision.
As the curator of the permanent collection, Catherine Marshall, explains: "From the start we've looked for work on the primary market, that is, we buy current work by an artist directly from the gallery, rather than - for example - buying older work at auction, or from private collections. It's a rule we've broken a few times. One occasion that comes to mind is our purchase of an early work by Michael Coleman. We had already bought a piece from him when this very good work came up, so we decided to try to get it. "In that instance he was very happy about it, but you can see why that wouldn't always be the case. A work at auction might be under-valued, for example. So we're going to be more strict about that, rather than less, in future." It is an approximate, unofficial figure, but last year the Museum spent something in the region of £150,000 on works for its collection.
The relationship between Gordon Lambert, one of the most renowned Irish art collectors, and the museum has been extraordinarily close and beneficial. "I would describe Gordon as the dream donor, the ideal donor," as Marshall puts it. At about 300 works (and still growing), the Gordon Lambert Collection, donated through the medium of the Gordon Lambert Trust, is one of the foundations of the Museum's overall collection. In that context it is quite simply invaluable. It accounts, for example, for all of the works by Patrick Collins, as well as a sprinkling of illustrious names, including Picasso, Tapies, Robert Motherwell and Ad Reinhardt. Plus surprises like four beautiful ceramic bowls by Sonja Landweer. It also helps to contextualise purchases, as in the case of a very early Charles Tyrrell from Lambert that makes instructive viewing in relation to one bought in 1993.
Although on a much smaller scale, the Ferguson donation has been extremely useful in a comparable way. Between it and the Lambert, there is a very good range of work by Barrie Cooke in the collection (enough to form a fine one-person show). Together, they also account for all three Basil Blackshaws. Significant loan collections include that of the work of printmaker Mary Farl Powers (on permanent loan), the Weltkunst Foundation Collection of British art of the 1980s and 1990s, chiefly sculpture, initiated by the late Adrian Ward-Jackson, and the Musgrave-Kinlay Outsider Archive, incorporating about 800 works by artists outside the cultural mainstream. These and other collections have various time-spans, but it seems that some at least of these are nominal and may be extended by mutual agreement. There are rumours, as well, of potential major additions in this area.
It is never just a question of saying thank-you when something is offered. Even potential donations are considered by the Acquisitions Committee, a sub-committee of the Board. There are sound reasons for this. The storage and display of artworks is very expensive. It will clearly suit the holders of some collections to have their works cared for and exhibited in a prestigious institution, but it is not necessarily in the interests of the institution. Currently the acquisitions committee comprises IMMA director Declan McGonagle, painter Brian Maguire, writer and critic Dorothy Walker, art historian Paula Murphy and, in their capacity as collectors, Mike Murphy and Gordon Lambert, plus the three senior curators at IMMA. "We're there," Marshall elaborates, "to offer advice and assistance. I think it's a very fair procedure. It's designed so that it represents several different constituencies." Certainly the pattern of purchases over the last few years has been refreshingly inclusive, covering a broad range of work.
"When we had a major review of the museum in 1995 we had a big debate about why we are called IMMA, and what `modern' is in this context. The consensus was that Modernist with a capital M is not the same as modern, small m. Eventually we decided to concentrate our energies on art from the 1940s onwards. That would include Modernist work, but much more as well." The distinction may seem purely academic, but there has been criticism of the museum for apparently by-passing Modernism in favour of postmodernism.
The 1940s cut-off point was settled on for a number of reasons. One is the sheer impracticality of acquiring works from the beginning of the century. Another the fact that the National Gallery of Ireland has made significant inroads into the 20th century with its holdings, something graphically illustrated by the pending opening of its new Yeats room, designed to display its incomparable Yeats collection. "To buy a single major work by Jack B. Yeats," Marshall observes, "could well consume our entire purchase budget for several years." That is neither practical nor desirable. At the same time, she adds: "We do possess works from artists active in the 1940s and, more, the 1950s, and we certainly didn't want to disenfranchise them." So while, as director Declan McGonagle puts it, "the centre of gravity of the collection is in the present", it certainly doesn't preclude developing its earlier side.
The last few years have seen the development of the National Programme, under which works are lent to regional venues for exhibition. Rather than merely touring pre-selected shows, the emphasis here is on recipients curating their own shows from the overall collection. Shortly after she was appointed, Marshall commented in an interview that she wanted people to realise that IMMA's was very much a national collection, not just a Dublin collection.
"Then I got a letter from an artist living in the village of Mountshannon in Co Clare that called my bluff. They were organising an arts festival and wanted to know if they could borrow works from the collection. In the event it worked out very well, and we were able to lend them what they wanted. That festival has developed in a number of ways to include the participation of pretty much the whole community. That was incredibly gratifying."
IMMA has published a summary catalogue of its permanent collection covering acquisitions from May 1991 to May 1998, which costs £12. The address of the Website, which goes on-line today, is www.modernart.ie
