Commemorating the Irish Diaspora in the USA: The Role of 19th-century Paintings

This article explores the ways in which 19th-century paintings collected by Americans of Irish descent complement the official celebrations aimed at commemorating the Irish diaspora in the United States. It shows how these paintings are usually selected by art collectors for their authenticity, a qu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angles (Société des Anglicistes de l'Enseignement Supérieur) 2019, Vol.8
Main Author: Dochy, Amelie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Art and art history
commemoration
Cultural heritage and museology
History
Humanities and Social Sciences
Irishness
national community
private remembrance
stereotypes
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article explores the ways in which 19th-century paintings collected by Americans of Irish descent complement the official celebrations aimed at commemorating the Irish diaspora in the United States. It shows how these paintings are usually selected by art collectors for their authenticity, a quality often associated with artworks conveying stereotypes about Irishness as well as some nostalgia for the homeland. By exhibiting such images, an individual presents his own vision of the past and this private form of remembrance is likely to participate in the construction of a cultural identity in the collective imagination, especially when the collector lends his paintings to a public gallery. Thus, these pictorial symbols of Irishness may move from the private to the public sphere, so that they can enhance the sense national identity deriving from a commemoration organised by the state.
ISSN:2274-2042
2274-2042
DOI:10.4000/angles.678