A collaboration between Trinity College Dublin History of Art Department and Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane Funded by IRCHSS Friday 19 and Saturday 20 October 2012
Francis Bacon had a voracious interest in books, and his range of interests is evident in the substantial collection he amassed, on subjects as diverse as art history, literature, photography, history, politics, philosophy, cinema, sport, crime, medicine, languages, and travel. The personal library of an artist is widely recognised as an invaluable resource for understanding their work, and there is ample evidence that this was the case for Bacon. His studio was piled with books, and littered with loose leaves torn from them for reference. Evidence indicates that he plundered these for ideas and forms, both from the images and text, liberally interpreting them for his own purposes, and there is much remaining to be explored. This symposium is presented as a stage in the joint project between the History of Art Department, TCD and Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. Generously funded by the Government of Ireland via the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) the project is led by Barbara Dawson, Director of Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, and Yvonne Scott, Head of the History of Art Department, TCD. The book collection has been comprehensively digitally catalogued drawing on the expertise of Dr Margarita Cappock, Head of Collections, Hugh Lane Gallery, and of Dr Monika Keska, Post-doctoral fellow from the University of Granada and Research assistant to the project. Francis Bacon's Books is available online. See Hugh Lane website www.hughlane.ie and Trinity College website www.tcd.ie/History_of_Art/. For general queries about the symposium, contact Dr Monika Keska: keskam@tcd.ie The symposium is open to the public and the attendance is free of charge. All are welcome
