Waterford Gallery of Art is delighted to announce two new additions to the Waterford Art Collection by prolific Irish artist, John Schwatschke.

The two portraits, ‘Self Portrait of the Artist’ (ink gouache, 1968) and ‘Self Portrait – Mutt & Jeff’ (oil on canvas, 2012) are painted in Schwatschke’s more classical style compared to his other more widely-recognised character studies. The artworks represent a career spanning over five decades, and to date Schwatschke has produced over 3,000 paintings and sculptures.

As seen in the earlier work from 1968 and now in the Waterford Art Collection, Schwatschke has a long tradition of painting his own self-portrait every year on his birthday.

His work has been sold in the most prestigious auction houses, both nationally and internationally and can be found in numerous galleries and collections. As a portrait painter to Heads of State and film stars, he has received numerous commissions and can claim Eamonn de Valera, Ingrid Bergman, Cyril Cusack and HRH Prince Philip amongst his sitters.

Born in Dublin in 1943 to Austro-Irish parents, John Schwatschke trained in architecture with the firm of Vincent Kelly. He later went to Munich to study portrait painting under Franz Erhmer. Schwatschke’s original ambition was to be a concert pianist and composer, and he gave three piano recitals of classical works and his own compositions in Waterford, Vevey and Tours.

His work as an artist has brought him to almost every corner of the globe, rubbing shoulders with the world’s elite. From 1970- 1979 John held a studio in Mougins, Provence (France) where Pablo Picasso was a neighbour. In 1981 he returned to Ireland, where a retrospective of his work was held at Le Musée Schwatschke, Carlow in 1994.

A previous resident of Dunmore East, John now resides in Waterford City

Waterford Gallery of Art, one of the oldest and best civic collections of art in the country, includes almost 600 works by notable artist such as Paul Henry, Jack B. Yeats, Mainie Jellett, Louis Le Brocquy, Mick O’Dea, Donald Teskey, and Una Sealy.

The gallery is open to the public Wednesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Admission is free for all.

-ENDS-

For further information:

Luke Currall
Visual Arts Co-Ordinator, Waterford City & County Council, Waterford Gallery of Art, lcurrall@waterfordcouncil.ie