Hugh Lane

For the Dublin City Gallery, seeHugh Lane Gallery.

Sir Hugh Lane
Born	(1875-11-09)9 November 1875 County Cork,Ireland,
Died	7 May 1915(1915-05-07)(aged 39) RMSLusitania,Atlantic Ocean
Occupation	Art dealer
Relatives	Augusta, Lady Gregory(aunt)

Sir Hugh Percy Lane(9 November 1875 – 7 May 1915) was an Irishart dealer,collector andgallerydirector. He is best known for establishingDublin'sMunicipal Gallery of Modern Art(the first known public gallery ofmodern artin the world) and for his contribution to thevisual artsin Ireland, including theLane Bequest.Hugh Lane died on board theRMSLusitania.

Family

Hugh Percy Lane was born inCounty Cork,Ireland, on 9 November 1875. He was the son of arectorfather, James William Lane. His mother, Frances Adelaide (Persse) Lane, was a daughter of Dudley Persse, of Roxborough,County Galway.Her sister, Augusta, was the dramatistAugusta, Lady Gregory,ofCoole, County Galway.

He was brought up inCornwall,England, and began his career as an apprentice painting restorer withMartin Henry Colnaghiin London, then worked as an art dealer at the Colnaghi's Marlborough Gallery for some years, before becoming a dealer in his own right and opening a gallery in Dublin in 1908.

Through regular visits toCoole(nearGort),County Galway,the home of his aunt, Lady Gregory, Lane remained in contact with Ireland. He soon counted among his family, friends and social circle those who collectively formed the core of the Irish cultural renaissance in the early decades of the 20th century that was a part of theCeltic Revival.

Art collector

Sir Hugh Lane byJohn Singer Sargent,1906

Extolling the cause of Irish art abroad, Lane also became one of the foremost collectors and dealers of FrenchImpressionistpaintings in Europe, and amongst those works purchased by him for the new gallery wereLa Musique aux TuileriesbyManet,Sur la PlagebyDegas,Les ParapluiesbyRenoirandLa CheminéebyVuillard.For his "services to art" in Ireland, Lane wasknightedin June 1909 at the comparatively young age of 33.

TheMunicipal Gallery of Modern Artopened in January 1908 in temporary premises at 17 Harcourt Street,Dublin,with no entrance charge. Lane hoped thatDublin Corporationwould run it, but the corporation was unsure if it would be financially viable. Lane met the running costs while seeking a more permanent home. A new gallery was proposed inSt Stephens Green,and then a dramatic bridge-gallery over theRiver Liffey,both designed bySir Edwin Lutyens.Both were turned down, the latter by a close vote of the Corporation, which would have to meet the long-term running costs. Despairing of Irish support, after all he had done, Sir Hugh then bequeathed his pictures to theNational GalleryinLondon.Shortly before his death, Lane reversed this in a codicil to his will, which was, however, not witnessed.

Lane did not live to see his gallery permanently located as he died in 1915 during thesinking of the RMSLusitania,off the west coast ofCork.In March 1914, fourteen months before his death, Lane had been appointed Director of theNational Gallery of Ireland.He was succeeded byWalter G. Strickland,who was the Gallery's registrar.

The Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, extended in 2005, is now inParnell Square,central Dublin.

A drama-documentary on him,Citizen Lane,directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, was produced in 2018.

Controversy over the Lane Bequest

Portrait by Antonio Mancini, 1913

Main article:Lane Bequest

Following his death, Lane's will bequeathed his collection to London, but an unwitnessed latercodicilbequeathed it to Dublin. Having possession, London'sNational Gallerydid not recognise the codicil. Altering this legal reality became the life's work of ProfessorThomas Bodkin.At the request of Lane's aunt,Lady Gregory,the leader of the Irish GovernmentW.T. Cosgraveunsuccessfully approachedRamsay MacDonaldon the matter in 1929.

Then, in 1938, the present-day solution came from the British side, during theHouse of Lordsdebates on theEire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938.Lord Strabolgiput forward a suggestion fromSir Robert Witt:"..that these pictures should alternate between London and Dublin. We have had them in London for a considerable number of years, and it might now be the turn of the Dublin Galleries to have them for a number of years... Legally, the holders have a very strong case, but we are so wealthy in our treasures, while Ireland is so comparatively poor..."

Lord Marleyadded: "My Lords, perhaps I might say one word in support of what my noble friend Lord Strabolgi has said because Sir Hugh Lane was a cousin of mine, and I do know he was very anxious, even before this codicil was made, that the pictures should go to Dublin. I hope that something will be done in support of what my noble friend has said."

WhenJohn A. CostellobecameTaoiseachin 1948, he initiated further negotiations with the UK government. Support in London was maintained in 1953 byLord Moyne,who said in Parliament: ".. I would urge on Her Majesty's Government to include in it a provision for the return of the thirty-six, or so, pictures which were collected by the late Sir Hugh Lane as a basis for a modern collection for Ireland...."

These interventions eventually led on to a compromise agreement in 1959, announced by TaoiseachSeán Lemass,whereby half of the Lane Bequest would be lent and shown in Dublin every five years.In his announcement of the agreement, Lemass thanked the then-retired Thomas Bodkin for his persistence, helped by Lord Moyne andLord Pakenham.In 1993, the agreement was changed so that 31 of the 39 paintings would stay in Ireland. The remaining 8 were divided into 2 groups so that 4 would be lent for 6 years at a time to Dublin. These 8 include works byManet,Monet,Pissarro,Renoir,Morisot,VuillardandDegas.In 2008, The National Gallery in London arranged for the entire collection to be on display in Dublin together for the first time. There was a switch in May 2013 for a six-year period.

Bibliography

• O'Byrne R.Hugh Lane 1875-1915.Lilliput, Dublin 2000.ISBN1-901866-55-6

External links

• HughLane.ie - Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane