Dame Barbara Rae CBE RA

Working in varying climatic conditions, most often in the winter months, when the sun casts long shadows and reveals hidden features. Rae captures the shifting character of the terrain in a way that the summer light conceals. Ancient settlements and field patterns emerge in the low winter sun, telling quiet stories that recall the memory of the land. Rae is particularly interested in the layered history of how the landscape has been used over the centuries, how it holds traces of those who came before. 

The exhibition features original paintings and prints which explore these layers, inspired by Rae’s countless journeys through County Mayo, uncovering its depths. Not only do we witness the gradual evolution of her work but also how Rae continues to record the memory of the landscape, how they themselves are the witnesses to human presence and the changes over time. 

Rae records time passing. She is much less concerned with topography than with the histories of place and its people. When travelling to paint, she immerses herself as fully as possible in the locations she visits, returning often to them, filling sketchbooks onsite with observations to develop later. The west coast of Ireland has been a constant in her work for over twenty years, reflecting her deep commitment to understanding and uncovering the social history embedded in each place she paints.