After the first successful lecture by Martin Gayford in the new Lucian Freud Lecture Series IMMA presents the second lecture in the series – What is a Portrait? Lucian Freud & Art History by Dr Yvonne Scott.

Everyone is familiar with the idea of a portrait, but the concept becomes elusive when you attempt to define it. Is it about a recognisable likeness of a person or psychological penetration? Is a portrait ultimately revealing or diversionary? Does it say as much about the artist as the sitter? What clues can one read from the way the subject is depicted? This lecture questions the meaning of portraiture and its role in art history, preliminary to exploring the revelations of Lucian Freud.

Dr Yvonne Scott is Associate Professor in History of Art, and Director of TRIARC, the Irish Art Research Centre, at Trinity College Dublin.

To celebrate the first anniversary of the ‘IMMA Collection: Freud Project’, IMMA is delighted to present a Lucian Freud Lecture Series in collaboration with The Irish Art Research Centre, Trinity College, Dublin (TRIARC) Trinity College Dublin. IMMA and TRIARC invite leading artists, critics and cultural researchers to offer new perspectives on Freud’s work from October 2017 to April 2018, concluding with a major symposium in April 2018.

Keynote events rotate on a monthly basis between venues at IMMA and TCD, concluding with a major symposium in April 2018. Each session introduces a distinct topic on this seminal artist’s work. Upcoming speakers include; Angela Griffith (TRIARC TCD), Isabelle Graw (Städelschule, Frankfurt), Noreen Giffney (Ulster University), Christina Kennedy (IMMA), Nathan O’ Donnell (Paper Visual Art-PVA), Daphne Wright (Artist) and others.