Through the Door (George Campbell in his Studio) was one of twenty-four works exhibited by Ireland at the 25th Venice Biennale in 1950; the most important international showcase for contemporary art, established in 1895. In 1950 there were twenty-three participating nations and Ireland - represented by two female artists, Nano Reid and Norah McGuinness - was included among them for the first time that year. Their selection was a bold choice made by the former Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, Dr George Furlong. Furlong was appointed in 1935 and at that time was the youngest and most academically qualified person to hold the position. He had studied at the Sorbonne and the universities of Grenoble, Munich and Vienna, was fluent in French and German and had worked in both the Tate and National Galleries in London prior to taking up his post. His acquisitions and achievements during his tenure were innovative but his ambitions for the gallery were ultimately stifled by politics and prudery and led to disillusionment and his resignation in 1950. The Venice Biennale was, however, an opportunity for Ireland to showcase itself as a modern, forward thinking nation that could hold its own in the art world and while Furlong's choices for Irish audiences may not have been deemed 'suitable', on the international stage, his judgement it seems was considered appropriate. Both Reid and McGuinness were prominent figures in the Irish arts scene. Both had studied at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin and had travelled to London and Paris and both were advocates of a modernist style of painting. Their work had also been showcased on the international stage before, among them; the Irish Exhibition of Living Artists (IELA) and the Exhibition of Contemporary Irish Painting organised by the Cultural Relations Committee of Ireland which toured the USA (1950). At Venice, despite not having a permanent pavilion at the event - they were placed between Israel (also participating for the first time) and a retrospective of Jacques Villon - they received largely positive feedback. The Italian critic Umberto Apollonio praised Reid's 'audacious expressionism' while James White (who wrote the catalogue entry for the artists at Venice) claimed the critics were 'amazed to learn that Reid was a woman artist' because of her strongly expressionist style. McGuinness' work was described as having 'vibrating and rather evocative tonality' and Italian President Luigi Einaudi acquired her painting The Black Church. Among their competition in 1950 included artists - mostly men - known today by their surnames alone, Braque, de Kooning, Dalν, Kandinsky, Klee, Picasso, Rivera, Pollock. The grand prize for painting was won by Henri Matisse, while all the other awards were also won by men.

Through the Door (George Campbell in his Studio) depicts Reid's friend and fellow artist standing purposefully in front of his easel. The door is used as a device to bring the viewer into the composition which is framed by a bold use of line and colour employed to dramatic effect to cut through the dark palette. The painting was exhibited in London in 1949 and the following year in Venice and was subsequently purchased from the artist by the grandmother of the present owner. It is a work of both artistic and historical significance in the story of Irish art and the foundation of Ireland's cultural identity.

Adelle Hughes,
February 2025

For further reading on Ireland and the 1950 Venice Biennale see: https://www.womensmuseumofireland.ie/exhibits/venice-biennale