Ach Rèalt na Glanmhaigdine ina ga ar an Uisce

Ann McCoy, Ach Rèalt na Glanmhaigdine ina ga ar an Uisce, 1979, graphite, acrylic and crayon on paper mounted on canvas, sheet: 81 ¹⁄₂ x 145 ¹⁄₈ in. (207.0 x 368.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.61

Artwork Details

Title: Ach Rèalt na Glanmhaigdine ina ga ar an Uisce
Artist: Ann McCoy
Date: 1979
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sheet: 81 ¹⁄₂ x 145 ¹⁄₈ in. (207.0 x 368.6 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums: crayon
graphite
acrylic
Mediums Description: graphite, acrylic and crayon on paper mounted on canvas
Classifications: Painting
Subjects: Animal — other — jellyfish
Fantasy
Object Number: 1986.6.61
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.61

Artwork Description

McCoy submerges the viewer in a world that unites cosmos and ocean depths. Planets and comets circle the periphery of a glimmering, watery field of graceful jellyfish and bioluminescent organisms. In the late 1970s, she had a dream, she said, of “floating in a black sea in the dark. Sea turtles and scientists were guiding me through the waters showing me the beauty of the sea at night.” Shortly thereafter she received a grant to go to Australia. There she did her first night scuba diving and began the Night Sea series. The title of this drawing comes from Brendan Behan’s play The Hostage and roughly translates from Gaelic as “But the star of the pure virgin glows on the water.”

Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014