Dillon, Gerard (1916–1971)

Irish painter who made a significant contribution to the development of modernism in Ireland. His work, often strongly autobiographical in content, is surreal and even naive in style. On occasion his work may be compared with that of the Russian-born French painter Marc Chagall. The vivid colour and high viewpoint of The Yellow Bungalow (1954; Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a case in point. In his later work Dillon used the image of the pierrot, a character from the commedia dell'arte, as a symbol akin to a self-portrait. A similar use of this imagery is found in the work of Picasso.

Born in the Falls Road area of Belfast, a background he drew on in his painting, Dillon was largely self-taught as an artist. This is perhaps significant for the ease with which he experimented with different media throughout his career. He also produced designs for theatre sets and costumes for the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in the late 1960s. His work is included in the collections of the National Gallery of Ireland and the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, both in Dublin, and the Crawford Municipal Gallery of Art, Cork.