Hilary Heron: A Retrospective
16 November 2024 to 15 February 2025

The F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council are delighted to present Hilary Heron: A Retrospective. Hilary Heron (1923–1977), was born in Dublin to x and Mary Heron (nee Collen) who were both from Portadown. She studied sculpture at the National College of Art, where she won the prestigious Taylor Art Scholarship Prize three years running in 1944, 1945 and 1946. With it she bought a motorbike and travelled throughout Europe and to Paris, where Samuel Beckett introduced her to key post-war artists and writers that influenced her thinking and production. She was represented by Ireland’s most important commercial gallery, the Waddington Galleries, and her international visibility was reinforced when she was selected to represent Ireland at the Venice Biennale in 1956 alongside Louis le Brocquy.

The exhibition is arranged in seven themes each articulating a different aspect of Heron’s work. It begins with Early work and then follows the thematics of: Venice Biennale, Flight, Primitivism, the Male body, and the Female body. The displays are comprised of works which articulate the full breadth of Heron’s sculptural practice: of wood carving, stone carving, welding in different metals, lead reliefs, beaten metal reliefs, encased stone assemblages; as well as her graphic practices of drawing and etching. The exhibition highlights how Heron navigated a career in a field dominated by men. Contemporary writers were united in their acclaim of her work, Anna Sheehy hailed Heron as ‘Ireland’s Most Promising Sculptor’. Despite her success during her life, her work was largely forgotten after her death due to historical biases and the art market’s lower value on women’s work. A collaboration with the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, this exhibition aims to introduce Heron’s work to contemporary audiences and ensure that she takes her place in the canon of Irish art history.

Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council has secured a £200k grant from the Wolfson Foundation to support ambitious expansion plans at the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio, Banbridge.

Today the UK charity announced that the accredited museum, which is dedicated to the life and work of internationally renowned sculptor Frederick Edward McWilliam, is one of around 80 organisations across the UK to receive a share of over £17m in its latest round of funding.

This significant investment is a welcome boost, enabling the Council to accelerate its ambitious plans to transform this cultural gem that attracts around 50,000 visitors each year and houses the world’s largest collection of McWilliam’s work.

Since its opened in 2008, it has become renowned for displaying high-quality exhibitions by local, national and international artists, delivering popular engagement and learning programmes and offering an excellent visitor experience, as evidenced by its 4 Star Tourism NI grading.

Planning has already been granted for a major extension of the facility following a successful £3.6m Levelling Up Fund bid in February 2023. Supported by an additional Council investment of £397,000, this capital project will increase visitor capacity and create more engaging opportunities for hosting events and educational programmes at the facility.

Planned improvements include a new collection gallery to make more of McWilliam’s work accessible to the public; a large education and community space; additional storage; an extended shop, café and tourism information; a Changing Places facility; more staff accommodation; a larger car park and two multi-purpose meeting rooms, available for programming and hire.

Welcoming today’s announcement, Lord Mayor Councillor Sarah Duffy said:

“We are at an exciting crossroads in realising our vision for the F.E. McWilliam Gallery and are very grateful to the Wolfson Foundation for providing this additional funding.

“This investment will be used to fit out the new collection gallery, allowing increased access to the permanent collection of McWilliam’s work and improving interpretation, display and collection care.

“This will also further support better public engagement with and understanding of this nationally significant collection to an increased number of visitors.  

“New multi-lingual multi-media guides, an audio descriptive guide and video guides in British and Irish Sign Language will be commissioned, ensuring the exhibition space is accessible to diverse audiences.

“This funding will also help improve the financial and environmental sustainability of the gallery. I look forward to seeing this exciting project, which will further enhance our borough’s unique cultural offering, come to fruition in 2026.”

Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation, added:

“We are delighted to be supporting the ambitious redevelopment of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery and, in particular, the new collection gallery. We are very impressed by this project which will result in significantly increased access to and awareness of F.E. McWilliam’s important work.”

Find out more about the ambitious plans for the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio at armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/femcwilliam.