Harry Clarke is an Irish artist of international acclaim and no consideration of the complexity of Irish culture is complete without examining his huge and vital contribution. This beautifully designed and fully illustrated book reveals how Clarke responded to his commissions and to his public, analysing works produced at the height of his career in the context of the quest for a cohesive identity by the new Irish state.
In particular, it examines the complex relationship between visual art and literature that lies at the heart of Clarke's contribution to Irish post-independence culture, and highlights themes such as patronage, public reception, advertising, propaganda, war and memory, to place Clarke within a larger political and cultural context.
