Free event - RHA Book Launch at The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts, Dublin Wed 25 Oct, 6 – 7.30pm Join us, on Wednesday 25 October, as we celebrate the launch of From Ten til Dusk, A Portrait of the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts In Twelve Stories by Cristín Leach, supported by IPUT. Published on the occasion of the RHA bicentenary year, 1823 – 2023. All Welcome.
The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts was founded in 1823. In this book Cristín Leach has identified characters from twelve episodes in its history and has brought their stories to life. Leach weaves stylistic agility with keen commentary to evoke the different epochs in the oscillating fortunes of the Academy’s journey. From the patrician lifestyle of its second President, the architect, Francis Johnston, through to the bitter rivalry of Michael Angelo Hayes and Bernard Mulrenin; from the tragic tale of Walter Osborne and his sister Violet, to the destruction of the RHA’s premises during the 1916 Rising, Leach creates stories that captivate and enthral.
She chronicles the struggles of individuals as they wrestled reactionary tendencies and endeavoured to bring the Academy into the modern era. She finds champions of feminism and social equality that fought the good fight to open up the Academy to artists and audiences alike.
Leach’s book is a celebration of artists, their brilliance and their foibles, and through their stories a reflection on the great humanity that is embedded in the heart of this institution.
About the author: Cristín Leach has been the Art Critic for the Sunday Times (Ireland) for the past twenty years. In addition to her criticism, she has written monographs and essays for many public gallery catalogues and visual arts publications. In 2022, she published her first nonfiction book, Negative Space, a memoir about art, writing and marital breakdown. It received stunning reviews. She is a regular participant in literary festivals both in Ireland and abroad.