Philip and Barry Castle explained

Philip and Barry Castle were British and Irish artists. They are considered a pair, as they are in the National Irish Visual Arts Library catalogue,[1] as they worked and exhibited together and shared a painting technique that Philip taught Barry, which concentrated on making the colour look luminous. The Irish Times said of their partnership that "As husband and wife they have lived together a long time, but their artistic partnership spans almost as many years." They use the quattrocento style, building up the painting layer by layer.[2]

Philip Castle

Philip Castle was born in 1929 in the south of England, into a family of engineers. He attended Haberdashers Aske School in London and went on in 1954 to read nuclear physics at Trinity College Dublin[2] where he studied under Ernest Walton,[3] the Nobel Laureate. He met his wife, Barry Laverty, when studying in Dublin and they married in 1963.[2]

After university Philip decided against a career as a nuclear physicist and instead became a painter. The Bank of Ireland Arts Centre and Lavit Gallery records describe Philip Castle as self-taught.[4] Barry told the Irish times that Philip never had any formal art training. 'He taught himself and then he taught me - even though I had been to art school."[5]

When Barry and Philip were first married they spent many months sailing around the Mediterranean, in search of the right light. Subsequently, they lived in a small villa within a carnation farm, overlooking the sea at Villefranche-sur-mer in the South of France. They also spent time in a small house in Gaiole in Chianti, Italy.[6] However, they kept their links to Ireland and owned a small coach house off Grafton Street in Dublin.

Philip's work is catalogued as relating to the built environment. He was much influenced by early Italian Primitive painters, Duccio and Cimabue. He painted huge canvasses[5] in clear pure colours, stippling the paint to create a smooth surface. His city-scapes often included material from the lives of Saints, Popes and historical events. He painted the Italian mediaeval: the Pallio in Siena, Venice and (later in his career) contemporary cities,[7] New York and London. His art connected these interests, finding Florentine lines in the early New York buildings.

Philip and Barry had separate but adjacent studios in Italy and France. They exhibited separately and together (see Exhibitions, below.) Their techniques were similar but their styles were distinguishable. The Irish Times interviewed them in 1999 and they discussed their differences. "I'm interested in what men build and do, rather than in men themselves. What you build is a way of expressing yourself," Philip said. Barry said her approach " has more to do with intuition and emotion and less to do with the intellect, the intellectual being more important to Philip's way of working. Barry's paintings are full of natural and organic forms, quite different concerns to the cityscapes and urban complexities of her husband's canvasses".

Philip sold mostly directly. Rainier III, Prince of Monaco once bought an entire exhibition and the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin also bought directly from Philip.[8]

Philip Castle died in 2005.

Barry Castle

Barry Laverty, christened Finbar, was born in Dublin in May 1935. Barry was the daughter of the writer and playwright, foreign correspondent and cook Maura Laverty[9] (1907 – 1966) who was particularly well-known for writing the Irish radio serial, ‘Tolka Row’. Barry illustrated some of her mother's work,[10] notably The Queen of Aran's Daughter, 1995 and "The Cottage in the Bog", 1992. Her father was the Irish Times journalist, James Laverty.[5]

She attended several schools, including the "gloomy" Holy Faith Convent on Haddington Road, St Louis in Rathmines and, she related, a school under Dr Teller where for two years she kept her coat on in class because no one told her where to hang it up and Loreto Abbey.

Barry attended Dublin Art School at the tender age of 15 "because I wouldn't go to school"[5] but left after only two years, not really painting again until she was encouraged and taught by Philip Castle. Her teachers included Sean Keating, Maurice MacGonigal and John Kelly. At art school Barry met her lifelong friend, the acclaimed Irish artist Pauline Bewick, (who also bought a house near the Castle's, in Tuscany[11]) and the RHA president, Tom Ryan.

Her use of Philip's luminous technique was noted in her obituary in the Irish Times which noted the graphic clarity and translucent colouring of her were suited to illustration.[12] She illustrated several books, including one, Cooking for Cats (1985), for which she herself provided the verse text.[13]

Barry had her first major exhibition with London’s Portal Gallery in 1974. Her work can be found in such collections as The National Library of Ireland, The National Self-Portrait Collection in Limerick, University of Limerick, AIB and The Arts Council of Ireland.[14]

Barry mainly painted a combination of landscapes and portraits; sometimes using incidents from the lives of eccentric saints or mythological subjects. For example, she painted her friend, the writer Jillian Becker. Her paintings were also commissioned by publishers for use in children’s books. She also designed postage stamps for the republic of Ireland[15] Barry Castle died in Dublin in August 2006.[16]

Barry and Philip's Exhibitions

Bibliography, filmography, prizes and publications

Illustrated Books (Barry)

Barry also illustrated children’s stories by her mother, Maura Laverty:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: National Irish Visual Arts Library: Barry Castle and Philip Castle. Paintings.. www.nival.ie.
  2. News: Many years a-glowing. Ian. Kilroy. The Irish Times.
  3. Web site: Phillip Castle. 19 Dec 2005. The Irish Times. www.pressreader.com.
  4. Web site: National Irish Visual Arts Library: Castle, Philip . Nival.ie . 2020-03-13.
  5. News: AN IRISHWOMAN'S DIARY. Ella. Shanahan. The Irish Times.
  6. Mayes, Elizabeth. “A Diary of the Art Year in Ireland.” Irish Arts Review Yearbook, vol. 11, 1995, pp. 54–73. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20492811. Accessed 14 Mar. 2020.
  7. “I.A.R. Gallery.” Irish Arts Review Yearbook, vol. 18, 2002, pp. XXXVII-XLVII. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25488303. Accessed 14 Mar. 2020.
  8. Web site: Philip Castle - Judgment. 1stdibs.com.
  9. Clear, Caitríona. “'The Red Ink of Emotion': Maura Laverty, Women's Work and Irish Society in the 1940s.” Saothar, vol. 28, 2003, pp. 90–97. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23199766. Accessed 14 Mar. 2020.
  10. Coghlan, V. (2018). Writing for Children. In H. Ingman & C. Ó Gallchoir (Eds.), A History of Modern Irish Women's Literature (pp. 149-166). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781316442999.009
  11. Web site: The Kenny Gallery . The Kenny Gallery - Pauline Bewick RHA Aosdana . Thekennygallery.ie . 1935-09-04 . 2020-03-13.
  12. News: 'Naive' artist best known for her vivid fantasies. The Irish Times.
  13. Book: Barry Castle (Author) . Cooking for Cats: Amazon.co.uk: Barry Castle: Books . .
  14. Web site: Barry Castle 1935 - 2008, Irish Artist.. adams.ie.
  15. Web site: Ireland 2000 Greetings : Mythical Creatures - Stamps of the World.
  16. Web site: CASTLE : Death notice - Irish Times Family Notices - Irish Times . Notices.irishtimes.com . 2020-03-13.
  17. Web site: Portal Gallery | Artist Biographies. www.artbiogs.co.uk.
  18. Web site: National Irish Visual Arts Library: Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA).. www.nival.ie.
  19. Mayes, Elizabeth. “A Diary of the Art Year in Ireland.” Irish Arts Review Yearbook, vol. 11, 1995, pp. 54–73. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20492811. Accessed 14 Mar. 2020. page 59
  20. Web site: pARTners to go on show in Cork . Rte.ie . 2002-04-15 . 2020-03-13.
  21. Web site: Music, Arts & Culture. June 28, 2018. www.ul.ie.
  22. Web site: 'Naive' artist best known for her vivid fantasies . Irishtimes.com . 2006-08-26 . 2020-03-13.
  23. Web site: Barry Castle & Philip Castle (paintings).. November 25, 1979. Google Books.
  24. Rooney, Brendan, and Margarita Cappock. “A Diary of the Art Year in Ireland.” Irish Arts Review Yearbook, vol. 15, 1999, pp. 4–26. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20493041. Accessed 14 Mar. 2020.
  25. Web site: I.A.R. Gallery . Pdfslide.us . 2020-03-13.

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