Jellett, Mainie (1897–1944)

Irish painter, a pioneer and key figure in the promotion of modern art in Ireland. In an international context she is remarkable for being a woman in this role.

Born in Dublin, Jellett developed her own highly analytical interpretation of cubism while studying in Paris. She combined this with the academic rigour of her early training and increasingly her own deeply spiritual outlook, as can be seen in works such as The Ninth Hour (1941; Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin). Her meticulous geometric abstract compositions were savagely attacked when first exhibited in Dublin in 1923. The cultural imperative in Ireland at this period was the assertion of a national identity rather than embracing such international developments. Nevertheless she was unflagging in her efforts during the next decades as an educator and administrator. In 1943 she chaired the founding committee of the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, a vital forum for Irish modern artists until the 1970s.