The Art of Friendship: Mainie Jellett & Evie Hone at the National Gallery of Ireland

Hi folks! 

Thank you so much for your kind words on my first blog post! Let’s hope I keep it up.

I travelled home to Dublin mid-July to of course see friends, family & my fabulous dogs, but I also wanted to visit the spring-summer exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland. 

“The Art of Friendship” is an exhibition featuring the works of Mainie Jellett (1897-1944) and Evie Hone (1894-1955), two Irish women artists who are credited with introducing Modernism to Ireland. They were also friends for most of their lives.

Mainie Jellett is the artist behind my favourite artwork at the National Gallery.

Decoration

Mainie Jellett (1923)

The first time I noticed this painting was in December 2022, I was killing time in the gallery and it stopped me in tracks. Perhaps because it was next to some figurative paintings of Ireland, Decoration really stood out in the room.

I learned that day it’s an abstract representation of Madonna and Child and to say I was gagged…….

The layered teals and blues for Mary’s blue robes, baby Jesus swaddled in cloth and shining light, both encompassed in gold. PERFECT!!!!!!! 

Comparison with Virgin and Child with Saints, Fra Angelico, ca. 1435

When Decoration was first exhibited in 1923 it was highly criticised by reviewers and an Irish public that was skeptical of modernism. One journalist referred to it as the “sub-human art of Mainie Jellett.” But of course people realised its brilliance over time.

So I was really excited to see this artwork again and more of Mainie Jellett’s work.

For the Art of Friendship, I invited my Friend Neev Brennan, who is extremely good at Art (find Neev's work here!), to join me in sketching in the gallery.

The show was really fantastic, the influence these two friends had on each other’s art became immediately apparent. Some paintings you couldn’t tell which artist it belonged to!

Left: Evie Hone, Right: Mainie Jellett

I think I made the error of looking at every piece before starting to draw, because by the time we reached the end I think nearly two hours had passed. I wish I got my notebook out sooner because I didn’t capture everything I wanted.

Also the colour palettes on display absolutely blew me away and I wanted to do more in-depth studies. So I started drawing some pieces in the gallery, then finished them later.

For example here is a painting by Evie Hone where the colours were so modern. That butter yellow is very on trend right now. 

Composition

Evie Hone (1927-28)

I didn’t have time to fill in all those shapes so here is my study in the gallery….

…and here is the final study which I finished in my sister Alex’s garden

Basil was curious yet apprehensive. Open your mind to modernism Basil!!!

The first thing I drew was this pencil study by Mainie Jellett, Study for an oil ‘I Have Trodden the Winepress Alone’ (1943). Funnily enough myself and Neev were not huge fans of the oil painting, but I fell in love when I saw the study.

When I replicated the lines I thought “OH she is a genius”. Every line harmonious and uniquely Mainie Jellett. 

Neev and I spent a lot of time drawing in the stained glass section. Evie Hone’s art became more figurative when she went through a period creating stained glass. However her style remains uninhibited by the medium. The organic shapes and textures make it seem like Hone drew these freely with ink and wash.

Sadly I didn't take down the name of this piece above! Also cannot find it online so am glad I got a record of it on the day....that's a great cow.

The finished study. Added a watercolour wash at home.

The Cock and the Pot

(commonly know as The Betrayal)

Evie Hone (1947)

Although Decoration was the star for me….I fear this may have been my true favourite in the exhibition....

Painting

Mainie Jellett (1938)

The colours are so vibrant in real life! And unbelievably modern.

Here is my study I finished later. That ashtray looks like the painting too!

And finally, I fulfilled my wish to do a study of Decoration :)

I used Faber Castell Pitt pastel pencils which were a good choice, especially for the dots. My notebook was not large enough but I like how it cuts off.

I had planned to do an in-depth study of the full thing later, but I actually feel very happy with my gallery drawing.

Some additional facts about these two artist friends. 

• The two women were deeply religious, so many of their art features Christian iconography. Neev and I mused if Christianity was their Kpop and when they got together they fangirled about Jesus like we do BTS. And would that make their paintings fanart…….

• The criticism towards their art in Ireland was severe at first. Riann Coulter wrote that Decoration was too radical for a post-Civil War Ireland that longed for stability after years of violent upheaval.

• At one point the response was so negative, Hone gave up art briefly to join a convent. Jellett convinced her to leave and make art again :’) love that!

• This exhibition is only the second time the two friends’ art has been exhibited together! Don’t miss it if you can!

Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone: The Art of Friendship is showing in the National Gallery of Ireland until the 10th of August 2025.