As part of a series of occasional articles profiling some of the contemporary artists featured in Newry and Mourne Museum’s temporary exhibition, Newry Artists Past and Present, the series continues with Cora Harrington.
Cora was born and lived in Newry until she left to attend the Belfast School of Art. She graduated in 1970 with First Class Honours in Art and Design. While there she won Student of the Year, three national awards and a large 10 x 8 ft commission for the London Boardroom of British Enkalon.
After graduating, Cora moved to Zambia with her husband where she lived and continued to paint for several years. Returning home with a young family she worked with her father in his veterinary and racehorse business for about 20 years. Art took a back seat while Cora exercised racehorses and raised her family. During this time Cora became a founding member of the Pastel Society of Ireland, exhibiting annually in their selected exhibitions and gradually resuming her art career. Receiving public commissions at home and abroad, plus winning prestigious awards encouraged Cora to become a full-time professional artist, represented by six galleries. One exciting and challenging commission was three paintings for the Northern Ireland Fire Authority to celebrate the opening of the new fire station in Newry.
Cora won the NI section of the Laing National Art Competition and has had her work shown in The Mall Galleries in London as a finalist on several occasions. In 2010 Cora had a large retrospective exhibition in The Sol Art Gallery in Dublin. Last year she was invited to take part in Newry Arts Festival art exhibition showcasing her work alongside three other local artists. Her work has been exhibited in selected exhibitions throughout Ireland and is held in public and private collections worldwide, including pieces currently on display in Newry & Mourne Museum.
In 2020 Cora was selected by Lindi Reynolds, an award-winning Architectural Interior Designer in London to be part of her Artists Appreciation Initiative. Recognising that great artwork is central to any successful interiors scheme, Lindi handpicked a number of artists to showcase their work. Describing Cora’s work as, “Moving easily between figurative and abstraction, Cora’s work is atmospheric, expressive and intuitive. The magic of Cora’s paintings is that they draw you in with their sense of wonder and mystery. The works are multilayered with plenty of content, not just in the subject matter, but in the mark-making, contrast of tone, colour and balance. Her artworks afford the viewer an escape into some ‘other’ private world, rich in enchantment.”
Along with her figurative, more traditional work, Cora is currently exploring abstraction and semi abstraction using oils, acrylics and mixed media. Her love of horses is still apparent in her work. Inspiration comes from landscape, nature and everything else in her life and memories.
Newry Artists Past and Present is on show at Newry and Mourne Museum until the end of October 2024.
To view more of Cora Harrington’s work please visit www.coraharrington.com or @coraharringtonartist on Instagram.
The Museum is currently offering free tours of the main exhibition galleries on Wednesdays at 2.00 pm. These must be booked in advance by calling our Education Officer at 0330 137 4422.
Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 am – 4.30 pm. Please call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org for further information.
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