Sean Keating: Art, Politics and Building the Irish Nation

This book is an outstanding examination of Sean Keating’s 70-year working life as an artist, art teacher, broadcaster, and public commentator. Based on extensive research and previously unavailable archival material, the book is the first-ever, full-scale work on the artist, offering a complete, thematically-based, well-balanced portrait. Revealing previously unknown insights into Keating’s life, the book discusses his difficulties at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art, the networks of people he knew (such as Harry Clarke, Charles Lamb, Paul Henry, and William Orpen), the projects he engaged in, and his sometimes self-destructive relationships with those whom he could not respect. This ground-breaking study explores Sean Keating’s expansive career, from his overtly political paintings of the War of Independence and the Civil War, to the artist’s engagement with the Aran Islands, to his recording of the early industrialization of the new State. Also covered are his controversial articles, letters, and RTE broadcasts from the 1930-1950s, which served to bring Keating both public admiration and official criticism. Richly illustrated with over 200 color paintings, sketches, and photographs, the book will be the definitive work on this hugely respected yet controversial Irish artist. *** [Eimear O'Connor] succeeeds in bringing Keating to life, fleshing out a character beyond the stereotype of the irascible opponent of modernism and the defender of tradition. By far the greatet revelation of this monograph is the role of May Keating in her husband’s life and politics. - Irish Literary Supplement, Vol. 35, No. 1, Fall 2015 [Subject: Art, Art History, Irish Studies, Politics]