![Tom Vaughan-Lawlor](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BN2ViZmIwMDktZTc3YS00OTc2LTkyNTMtNTFiODdiZGM3ZWM2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDkxMDg2MTk@._V1_QL75_UY207_CR8,0,140,207_.jpg)
![Tom Vaughan-Lawlor](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BN2ViZmIwMDktZTc3YS00OTc2LTkyNTMtNTFiODdiZGM3ZWM2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDkxMDg2MTk@._V1_QL75_UY207_CR8,0,140,207_.jpg)
This drama documentary makes the case for the return to Dublin of dozens of impressionist masterpieces held by London’s National Gallery
This Irish drama documentary feels like a contribution to ongoing efforts to guilt-trip the National Gallery in London into returning to Ireland more than three dozen French impressionist masterpieces bequeathed by the Irish art dealer Hugh Lane. When he wrote his will in 1913, stung by the Dublin authorities’ refusal to grant him planning permission to build a modern art gallery in the city, Lane left the 39 paintings to London. Later, he changed his mind, adding a codicil to his will. His intentions were as clear as day, but the codicil was unwitnessed. So, when he died aged 40 – travelling on the Lusitania, which was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915 – London got the paintings.
The film opens with a bit of context, setting the mood in Ireland at the turn of the 1900s.
This Irish drama documentary feels like a contribution to ongoing efforts to guilt-trip the National Gallery in London into returning to Ireland more than three dozen French impressionist masterpieces bequeathed by the Irish art dealer Hugh Lane. When he wrote his will in 1913, stung by the Dublin authorities’ refusal to grant him planning permission to build a modern art gallery in the city, Lane left the 39 paintings to London. Later, he changed his mind, adding a codicil to his will. His intentions were as clear as day, but the codicil was unwitnessed. So, when he died aged 40 – travelling on the Lusitania, which was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915 – London got the paintings.
The film opens with a bit of context, setting the mood in Ireland at the turn of the 1900s.
- 4/5/2021
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
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