Solomon Fine Art is pleased to announce an exhibition of photographs by the collaborative Irish American duo McDermott & McGough.

David McDermott and Peter McGough (born 1952 and 1958 respectively) attended the University of Syracuse in the 1970s.  In the 80s, the two were known in New York City’s East Village art scene for their self-immersion in the Victorian era, their lives and art strictly defined by the early 1900s.  Through this time based ‘portal’ McDermott & McGough challenged the chronological boundaries of art history and cultural identity. 

David now lives mostly in Ireland at his country house in Westmeath while Peter spends most of his time in New York.  Both artists visited Russborough House in Blessington, Co. Wicklow many times over the years and fell in love with the house, its artwork and the sense of homeliness created by the Beit family that remains intact to this day.  David wanted to do a photographic study of the house for some time.  He was reluctant to do an ‘interiors shoot’ but instead wanted to capture some of the special looks of the house through the eyes of the Beits. 

With the Alfred Beit Foundation having to continuously raise funds to keep the house open to the public for future generations, it was decided to hold an exhibition with 20% of all sales proceeds going directly to the Alfred Beit Foundation.  The black & white photographs have all been printed using the ‘Van Dyke’ process invented in 1842 by the English astronomer, Sir John Herschel.

McDermott & McGough have exhibited widely internationally and were nominated for the Glen Dimplex Award at IMMA in 1998 as well as being shortlisted to represent Ireland at the Venice Biennale.  Their work forms part of numerous collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, L.A.  Previous exhibitions include the Frankfurter Kunstverein in 1986, the Whitney Biennial  (1997, 1991, 1995 and 2009) and most recently their work has been shown in New York, Milan & Brussels.