THE funeral service takes place in Ramelton tomorrow of renowned, Belfast-born artist and sculptor Deborah Brown who had made Donegal her home for the past twenty years.
Ms Brown passed away at the Donegal Hospice on Saturday in her 96th year, surrounded by her friends and carer Michelle Patterson.
She will be missed by her family and a wide circle of friends and artist colleagues.
She was predeceased by her dear friend and travelling companion Anne Crookshank.
Ms Brown developed a connection with the natural world during her childhood in Cushendun in County Antrim which has had an ongoing effect on her artistic practice.
Now best known for her pioneering work with fibreglass in the 1960s, she initially studied landscape painting before moving to Paris and becoming involved in the abstract art movement.
She moved from abstraction to figuration in the early 1980s and has since then gained much recognition for her public sculptures.
Two of her most prominent public pieces are the bronze sculptures ‘Sheep on the Road’, near the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, and ‘The Goat at Cushendun’. Her work is held in the major national collections.
Ms Brown’s work was exhibited at the RHA and the Ulster Academy in 1948 and she had a one person show in Belfast in 1951.
The trajectory of her work is summarised in the titles of two published works ‘From painting to sculpture’ and ‘Abstraction to figuration’. Her sculptures in fibre glass are a challenge to conservators but remain fresh and unique.
Her life threaded through a century of Irish art. She was taught by JH Craig, Sean Keating and Maurice MacGonigle, met Jack Yeats and was a contemporary of TP Flanagan and Basil Blackshaw.
In Belfast she enjoyed the company of John Hewett, Mercy Hunter, Helen Lewis and Alice Berger Hammerschlag. In Dublin she played music with Nano Reid, Anne Crookshank and Hilary Pyle became close friends.
Often appearing quiet and reserved she has been described by a friend as a serene person who was loyal and generous in friendship. Her life and work demonstrated her determination and complete integrity, they said.
Ms Brown’s funeral service will take place at St. Paul’s Church of Ireland, Ramelton on tomorrow, April 15 at 2pm.
The Minister will be Canon Harry Gilmore.
The address will be given by Dr. Hilary Pyle, the art historian, who was a close personal friend of Deborah.
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