Gerard Dillon

*Oil on board, 1951*
Gerard Dillon
Across from Inishlacken
Dillon abandoned his art school education at Belfast School of Art, concerned that their teaching might corrupt the simplicity and originality he strove for in his art. Influenced by Christopher Wood and Alfred Wallis, his naive, original style reflected a desire to achieve poetic and personal expression in his work. Once criticised by a friend that his art was too childlike, he remarked; ‘that is the greatest compliment you could pay me, I am always trying to see with a child’s innocence and sincerity.’