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The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is loaning one of its treasures to a major exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago – Ireland: Art on a World Stage, 1690-1840. The College’s Ancient Irish Deer Antlers from Ballybetagh will be on display at the exhibit which will open on St. Patrick’s Day 2015 and run through June 7. According to ACS Archivist Adam Carey, the massive skull and antlers of an extinct, Irish Elk displayed in the reception area of the College’s Chicago headquarters office was a diplomatic gift to the College from the Royal College of Surgeons in 1921.
Mr. Carey gives all due credit for the Art Institute’s pursuit of the antlers to Dan Steinke, ACS Office Services Manager. Mr. Steinke oversaw the construction of the current display case, with staff from the Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago, providing assistance on proper mounting. “It was that connection that prompted the Art Institute to contact us for the loan,” Mr. Carey said.
The antlers are steeped in history. The College received the antlers at the height of Ireland’s “troubles” in the 1920s. The “troubles” refer to the decades of violence between elements of Northern Ireland’s Irish nationalist community, who are mostly Catholics, and its unionist community, mainly self-identified as British and/or Protestant. Ancient elk or deer antlers served as prominent symbols in Irish country homes. Thousands of years old and preserved in Ireland’s bogs, antlers displayed in an entrance hall signified a family’s roots and claims to Irish land.
Douglas Druick, president and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute, in a letter expressed deep gratitude to the College for loaning this vital artifact to the exhibit.
Mr. Druick explained that the agricultural depression in the British Isles in the 1880s resulted in the delivery of many extraordinary objects from Ireland to the U.S. and Canada and are now scattered from Honolulu, HI, to Portland, ME, Ottawa, Canada, and San Antonio, TX. “Through this exhibition and the accompanying catalogue published by the Art Institute of Chicago in association with Yale University Press, these often little-known objects will be shown together for the first time,” Mr. Druick explained.
The exhibition will present 300 objects drawn from public and private collections across North America. Arranged thematically throughout six galleries, the exhibit’s paintings, sculpture, and architecture as well as book bindings, ceramics, glass, furniture, metalwork, and textiles will celebrate the Irish as artists, collectors, and patrons. Chicago will be the only venue for the exhibit.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is loaning one of its treasures to a major exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago – Ireland: Art on a World Stage, 1690-1840. The College’s Ancient Irish Deer Antlers from Ballybetagh will be on display at the exhibit which will open on St. Patrick’s Day 2015 and run through June 7. According to ACS Archivist Adam Carey, the massive skull and antlers of an extinct, Irish Elk displayed in the reception area of the College’s Chicago headquarters office was a diplomatic gift to the College from the Royal College of Surgeons in 1921.
Mr. Carey gives all due credit for the Art Institute’s pursuit of the antlers to Dan Steinke, ACS Office Services Manager. Mr. Steinke oversaw the construction of the current display case, with staff from the Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago, providing assistance on proper mounting. “It was that connection that prompted the Art Institute to contact us for the loan,” Mr. Carey said.
The antlers are steeped in history. The College received the antlers at the height of Ireland’s “troubles” in the 1920s. The “troubles” refer to the decades of violence between elements of Northern Ireland’s Irish nationalist community, who are mostly Catholics, and its unionist community, mainly self-identified as British and/or Protestant. Ancient elk or deer antlers served as prominent symbols in Irish country homes. Thousands of years old and preserved in Ireland’s bogs, antlers displayed in an entrance hall signified a family’s roots and claims to Irish land.
Douglas Druick, president and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute, in a letter expressed deep gratitude to the College for loaning this vital artifact to the exhibit.
Mr. Druick explained that the agricultural depression in the British Isles in the 1880s resulted in the delivery of many extraordinary objects from Ireland to the U.S. and Canada and are now scattered from Honolulu, HI, to Portland, ME, Ottawa, Canada, and San Antonio, TX. “Through this exhibition and the accompanying catalogue published by the Art Institute of Chicago in association with Yale University Press, these often little-known objects will be shown together for the first time,” Mr. Druick explained.
The exhibition will present 300 objects drawn from public and private collections across North America. Arranged thematically throughout six galleries, the exhibit’s paintings, sculpture, and architecture as well as book bindings, ceramics, glass, furniture, metalwork, and textiles will celebrate the Irish as artists, collectors, and patrons. Chicago will be the only venue for the exhibit.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is loaning one of its treasures to a major exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago – Ireland: Art on a World Stage, 1690-1840. The College’s Ancient Irish Deer Antlers from Ballybetagh will be on display at the exhibit which will open on St. Patrick’s Day 2015 and run through June 7. According to ACS Archivist Adam Carey, the massive skull and antlers of an extinct, Irish Elk displayed in the reception area of the College’s Chicago headquarters office was a diplomatic gift to the College from the Royal College of Surgeons in 1921.
Mr. Carey gives all due credit for the Art Institute’s pursuit of the antlers to Dan Steinke, ACS Office Services Manager. Mr. Steinke oversaw the construction of the current display case, with staff from the Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago, providing assistance on proper mounting. “It was that connection that prompted the Art Institute to contact us for the loan,” Mr. Carey said.
The antlers are steeped in history. The College received the antlers at the height of Ireland’s “troubles” in the 1920s. The “troubles” refer to the decades of violence between elements of Northern Ireland’s Irish nationalist community, who are mostly Catholics, and its unionist community, mainly self-identified as British and/or Protestant. Ancient elk or deer antlers served as prominent symbols in Irish country homes. Thousands of years old and preserved in Ireland’s bogs, antlers displayed in an entrance hall signified a family’s roots and claims to Irish land.
Douglas Druick, president and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute, in a letter expressed deep gratitude to the College for loaning this vital artifact to the exhibit.
Mr. Druick explained that the agricultural depression in the British Isles in the 1880s resulted in the delivery of many extraordinary objects from Ireland to the U.S. and Canada and are now scattered from Honolulu, HI, to Portland, ME, Ottawa, Canada, and San Antonio, TX. “Through this exhibition and the accompanying catalogue published by the Art Institute of Chicago in association with Yale University Press, these often little-known objects will be shown together for the first time,” Mr. Druick explained.
The exhibition will present 300 objects drawn from public and private collections across North America. Arranged thematically throughout six galleries, the exhibit’s paintings, sculpture, and architecture as well as book bindings, ceramics, glass, furniture, metalwork, and textiles will celebrate the Irish as artists, collectors, and patrons. Chicago will be the only venue for the exhibit.