Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone. The Art of Friendship
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
10 April–10 August 2025
The Klesch Collection was proud to be the Lead Sponsor of the Exhibition ‘Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone. The Art of Friendship’ at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin and to join in bringing the art of this trailblazing duo to a wider audience.
This Exhibition celebrated the two pioneering female artists who put modernism on the Irish map. Showcasing 90 works, it explored Jellett and Hone’s friendship and the evolution of their artistic voices — tracing both their shared beginnings and later divergences through their paintings, stained glass and preparatory drawings. During their studies in Paris in the 1920s with the influential Cubist Albert Gleizes, Jellett and Hone became captivated by the radical modernism of the European avant-garde. Returning to Ireland, they defied the conservative Dublin art scene, championing abstraction and forging a bold new path for Irish art by blending their revolutionary style with traditional themes such as religion and landscape.
Mainie Jellett, Achill Horses, 1941, oil on canvas, 61 x 92 cm, Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland. Photo © National Gallery of Ireland
Evie Hone, The Cock and Pot (commonly known as The Betrayal), c. 1947, stained glass, 55.5 x 32.8 cm, Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland. © Geraldine Hone, Kate Hone and the FNCI. Photo © National Gallery of Ireland
Cover image: Mainie Jellett, Flower Forms (detail), c. 1937, oil on canvas, 45.7 x 61cm, The O’Brien Collection. Photographer: Michael Tropea, Chicago.
Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone. The Art of Friendship
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
10 April–10 August 2025
The Klesch Collection was proud to be the Lead Sponsor of the Exhibition ‘Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone. The Art of Friendship’ at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin and to join in bringing the art of this trailblazing duo to a wider audience.
This Exhibition celebrated the two pioneering female artists who put modernism on the Irish map. Showcasing 90 works, it explored Jellett and Hone’s friendship and the evolution of their artistic voices — tracing both their shared beginnings and later divergences through their paintings, stained glass and preparatory drawings. During their studies in Paris in the 1920s with the influential Cubist Albert Gleizes, Jellett and Hone became captivated by the radical modernism of the European avant-garde. Returning to Ireland, they defied the conservative Dublin art scene, championing abstraction and forging a bold new path for Irish art by blending their revolutionary style with traditional themes such as religion and landscape.
Mainie Jellett, Achill Horses, 1941, oil on canvas, 61 x 92 cm, Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland. Photo © National Gallery of Ireland
Evie Hone, The Cock and Pot (commonly known as The Betrayal), c. 1947, stained glass, 55.5 x 32.8 cm, Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland. © Geraldine Hone, Kate Hone and the FNCI. Photo © National Gallery of Ireland
Cover image: Mainie Jellett, Flower Forms (detail), c. 1937, oil on canvas, 45.7 x 61cm, The O’Brien Collection. Photographer: Michael Tropea, Chicago.
