I thought of freedom – and Curfew – the result.”Īlthough Dillon was clearly fearful of the sketch being discovered, Rákóczi kept it safe. I was amusing myself and my thoughts ran in this direction.
Dillon once sent a small sketch to Rákóczi depicting two nude men affectionately embracing one another, attached was a note saying, “do burn it after you’ve looked and laughed at it. The group was founded by Basil Rákóczi and Kenneth Hall, a gay couple, who were quite public about their relationship even in the conservative Dublin.Įven though he never exhibited with the White Stag group, Dillon socialised in their circle and was good friends with Rákóczi. During World War II, Dillon moved to Dublin where The White Stag group, a collective of artists, had recently formed. Some friends of Dillon recount that he was open about his sexuality in certain circles, but still kept his romantic relationships private. Do you think it is right that this is now public knowledge or should it have stayed a secret? It was not until Dillon’s premature death at age 40 that his family discovered through reading his diary that he was gay, a fact which he had kept hidden from most people throughout his life. Despite his lack of formal training, he is praised today as one of Ireland's best modernist painters. Gerard Dillon was born in Belfast to a strong Catholic and nationalistic family. If you have any further questions or would like to know more about the Gallery’s LGBTQIA+ programming please contact Kate Drinane at | (01)6633510. This is part of the Gallery’s wider LGBTQIA+ programming, including tours (public and private), talks and the OUTing the Past: LGBT History Festival. With all of this in mind, this selection of artworks is designed to offer a different perspective of the national collection, to inspire you to look more closely at art, and to question the seemingly heteronormative histories that go with it. If you are unsure of certain definitions, please visit our glossary page.
#Woman paints over gay pride art full
The words used here to describe people’s sexual or gender identities are applied cautiously and with a full awareness that they themselves may not have used them. Many words that we use today have only come into existence, with their current definitions, in the last few decades. The final challenge to LGBTQIA+ history is the use of modern terminology in a historical context. Merely questioning the assumption that a person was straight and cisgender can be enough when faced with a lack of empirical evidence. In these cases, we can at least question the heteronormative dialogue of history. Sometimes the research brings up more questions than answers. There are huge gaps in LGBTQIA+ historical resources, as in the past anonymity was a form of protection. The resources that do exist often come with their own prejudices against the LGBTQIA+ community, and they are more commonly focused on cisgender homosexual men, as they were the most openly policed during different periods in history. When trying to find LGBTQIA+ stories within a historical collection there are several issues that keep coming up. Some things to consider: Historical resources
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