A Time Of Gifts: Major new allocation of Irish art unveiled at the Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum is celebrating a significant enhancement to renowned Irish art collection with major works by two of Ireland’s most celebrated artists - Sir John Lavery (1856–1941) and Sir William Orpen (1878–1931).
Lavery, born in Belfast, donated thirty-four paintings to the newly opened Belfast Art Gallery in 1929 - now the Ulster Museum.
Orpen, born in Dublin, maintained close ties with Ireland and returned to teach in Dublin, influencing a younger generation of Irish painters, many of whom were women and are represented in the Ulster Museum’s collection.
Central to the new exhibition, ‘A Time of Gifts’, is a small study by Lavery, Sketch of the House of Lords in Session in 1921. The painting records the packed chamber of the House of Lords during the debate which followed the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, on 6th December 1921, establishing the Irish Free State. From early in his career, Lavery perfected the oil sketch as a means of rapidly recording a scene or event.
Also included is Orpen’s illustration of the devastation caused by the Great War.
The works have been accepted by HM Government in Lieu of Inheritance Tax from the estate of Mary Hobart, part of the collection of Alan and Mary Hobart, and were allocated to the Ulster Museum in 2025. The offer in lieu was negotiated with the support of the Heritage and Taxation team at Christie’s.
Mary Hobart, together with her husband Alan, founded the Pyms Gallery, London, which specialised in Irish art.
‘A Time of Gifts’ is on show at the Ulster Museum until 3rd May 2026. Admission is free. See www.ulstermuseum.org