Man and Mirror Print

Ian Darragh was a figurative painter who died in January 2008 of Muliple Sclerosis. Please visit his memorial website at www.ian-darragh.com where you can view 1600 images of his work.Born 1959, Ballymena, Northern Ireland Died 2008, New York City, USA Born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland in November 1959, Ian David Darragh was the fifth child of John Darragh, an Assistant Divisional Fire Officer, and Mary Weir. Very little is known about his childhood except for the certainty of his vocation to be an artist, and his apparent fascination with the Circus and horses as witnessed in his earliest known drawings. These are recurring themes throughout his entire body of work. Notable early achievements include winning the Texaco Children's Art Competition in 1974 (he was runner-up in 1975 and 1976) and a prime-time appearance on BBC Northern Irelands Scene Around Six where Ian, the young artist, was presented with an award by the Mayor of Larne. Ian completed a foundation course at Jordanstown College of Art in Northern Ireland before setting off for London at the age of 17. From 1978 to 1981, he attended Hornsey College of Art, part of Middlesex Polytechnic, where he obtained his Bachelors Degree in Fine Art with honors and two special commendations for Art History and Critical Studies. The years 1978 and 1979 brought about the deaths of both his mother and his sister, Colleen, two of his closest family members. These were his last visits to his native land; he maintained only sporadic communication with other members of his family thereafter. In 1981, Ian was accepted by the prestigious Royal College of Art in its three-year printmaking degree program. In 1984, he achieved his Masters Degree of Fine Arts in Printmaking and Painting. While exhibiting some of his work in the Royal College of Art Degree Show in 1984, Ians paintings gained attention and were recieved very favorably by a London Times critic who was reviewing the show. The resulting publicity created a stir as well as a sold-out show - almost immediately his work was picked up by the Mall Galleries in London and subsequently The Nicholas Treadwell Gallery. From that time forward, painting became his major focus although he was always proud of his printmaking work.After graduating from the Royal College of Art, Ian worked as an independent painter in London until 1988.