Object of the month

This bronze circular plaque by Imogen Stuart entitled 'King Laoghaire welcomes St Patrick to Ireland' was acquired by Down County Museum in 2003.

Imogen Stuart was born and trained in Germany, before marrying the sculptor Ian Stuart and moving to Ireland in the early 1950s. Her work has largely consisted of church commissions and she has succeeded Oisin Kelly as the leading practitioner of religious art in Ireland. Her work shows the German influence of Ernst Barlach, but she has profitably drawn on the rich area of early Irish Christian imagery and iconography.