An original drawing for the “Emigrants” sculpture by the artist Eamonn O’Doherty has been purchased by Derry City Council’s Heritage and Museum Service.
Originally situated at Waterloo Place, the seven figures which comprise the public work were relocated to The Quay Trail near Sainsbury’s in 2011.
With over 30 public sculptures in several countries as well a prolific legacy in painting and print, Eamonn O Doherty (1939-2011) is seen as one of the most important Irish artists of his generation.
The drawing – to go on display in the foyer of the Tower Museum – details two groups of figures, a family of four departing the shores of Derry, while an elderly couple at a garden gate are waving goodbye.
In the family group, the girl carries books and the boy a fiddle, indicating some of the cultural baggage that the emigrants brought to the “New World.”
Included in the purchase are instruction notes of materials to be used in the sculpture, in this case bronze, its size, and the distance for the figures to be exhibited.
The final piece of work includes the figure of an additional girl.
Bernadette Walsh, archivist at Derry City Councils Heritage and Museum Service, said she was delighted with the purchase of the Derry born artist’s work, a collection of which was recently exhibited in the London Street Gallery in the city.
She added: “The recent exhibition titled ‘A Man for all Mediums’ showcased the diversity of the artist and promoted his legacy as one of the city’s most important visual artists.
“The purchased drawing, which was included in the exhibition, is a mixed media piece showing a preliminary proposal for the sculpture.”
The purchase was enabled through a grant from the Northern Ireland Museums Council Acquisitions Fund and is set to go on display in the foyer of the Tower Museum.
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