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The Age of Romantic Fantasy

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William Blake

Exhibition now open

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William Blake, The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy (formerly called ‘Hecate’) c. 1795 - detail. Tate, Presented by W. Graham Robertson 1939. Photo: Tate.

The Photography of John Minihan

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Visual Poetry

Opens 14 March

Free admission

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Whispering Gallery, St. Paul’s Cathedral, 1962, 1962. Photograph by John Minihan. Copyright of University College Cork.

Tails from the Archive

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Créatúir na Cartlainne

Room 11

Free admission

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Become a Friend of the National Gallery of Ireland and be part of our community of art lovers!Members of the Friends enjoy exclusive benefits including unlimited free entry to all exhibitions. We are a charity, and every membership is vital to support our work. Your membership helps the Gallery to acquire new artworks to enrich the national collection, as well as supporting the exhibitions programme. Read more about how your membership makes a difference.Thank you for your support!
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Free unlimited entry to all ticketed exhibitionsFriends Fortnight: an annual two-week festival in March, celebrating our members, with exclusive daily events.Member only lectures, tours and events, which share knowledge and behind-the-scenes stories about Gallery exhibitions and projects.Exclusive access to digital content, including an archive of videos and art-history talks and lecture series on YouTubeWeekly email newsletter sharing new events and Gallery news for Friends10% discount in the Gallery Shop with special promotions15% discount in the Gallery Café20% discount on selected online events organised by the Education team including art appreciation coursesEarly-bird booking for selected eventsCopy of each issue of The Gallery magazineKnowing that your membership makes a difference and directly supports the work of the Gallery
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By email: [email protected]By phone: +353 (0) 1 661 9877 In person: Visit us at the Membership Desk in the Gallery’s Millennium Wing (opposite the Gallery Shop). The desk is open Monday–Saturday during Gallery opening hours (except bank holidays). Please note the desk is closed 1pm-2:15pm for lunch.**Opening hours subject to change.

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© National Gallery of Ireland

Located in the centre of Dublin's cultural quarter, overlooking Merrion Square, the National Gallery of Ireland has a variety of unique venue spaces which will provide an unforgettable experience for any private or corporate event.Our elegant spaces can accommodate drinks receptions, gala dinners, conferences and meetings, and weddings. Your event can be as small as 10 guests, or as large as 300 guests, and we can promise that all will have a memorable evening. An evening at the National Gallery of Ireland would not be complete without private views of pieces from our collection and special exhibitions. Talk to us to find out more on how to arrange tours for your event.For more details, you can download our venue brochure here, or contact the Events Team:Email: [email protected] | Telephone: + 353 1 661 5133.Please note: We ask for a lead time of five weeks for events.

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Our unique spaces

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Wintergarden and Millennium Foyer
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[IMG: A woman sits crosslegged on the ground, her hand pointing to an open book. She turns to the side, looking at the creatures near her, including a donkey and an owl. Two other figures hide behind her. Overhead, two bat-like creatures fly.]

William Blake, The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy (formerly called ‘Hecate’), c. 1795. Tate, Presented by W. Graham Robertson 1939. Photo: Tate.

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16 April - 19 July 2026 Rooms 6-10 | Tickets from €0-€16William Blake, a visionary artist and poet, was a defining force in Romanticism. His imaginative and unconventional works continue to inspire today. This exhibition, curated by Tate in partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland, presents a selection of Blake’s most iconic works of art, alongside paintings and drawings by his contemporaries. Blake’s world was one of fantasy, imagination, and the ancient past, filled with fantastical creatures and visions of the underworld, expressed through a wide variety of media. By placing him in context - among the artists he admired and those he inspired - the exhibition offers insight into an era of extraordinary originality and innovation in late-eighteenth and early nineteenth-century art. Featuring over 100 works, including by James Barry (1741–1806), Henry Fuseli (1741–1825), John Hamilton Mortimer (1740–1779), Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827), and J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851), the show explores how artists responded to a time of revolution and transformation, pushing the boundaries of their art into new imaginative territories.Organised in collaboration with Tate.Curated by Anne Hodge, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Ireland and Alice Insley, Curator of British Art c. 1730 – 1850 at Tate.This exhibition is supported by The William Blake Giving Circle. The Gallery would like to thank the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport for their ongoing support.

[H3] FAQs:
[H4] Find some frequently asked questions about tickets to the exhibition here.
[H3] Shop the exhibition:
[H4] Discover the Gallery Shop's range of exhibition-related products here.

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Related events:

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Watch: Curator's Introductory Talk
Watch this in-depth talk back online

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[H3] Turas Poiblí Trí Ghaeilge | William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy
Free for ticket-holders for this timeslot

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[H3] Baby Sensory Workshop: Magical Realms
Join us for this baby sensory workshop.

[IMG: Early years education programmes, National Gallery of Ireland]

[H3] Baby Sensory Workshop: Magical Realms
Join us for this baby sensory workshop.

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[H3] Inclusive Accessible Tour | William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy
Free for exhibition ticket-holders

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[H3] Audio Described tour | William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy
Devised specifically for visually impaired visitors

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[H3] Drawing the Collection: Bealtaine with Blake
Join artist Melissa O'Donnell for a tutored drawing session

[IMG: Students Sketching National Gallery of Ireland Schools Programme]

[H3] Drawing the Collection: Bealtaine with Blake
Join artist Melissa O'Donnell for a tutored drawing session

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[H3] Inclusive Accessible Tour | William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy
Free for exhibition ticket-holders for this timeslot

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[H3] Sunday Family Drop-in Workshop: Surreal Landscapes
A free drop-in workshop

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[H3] Inclusive Accessible Tour | William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy
Free for exhibition ticket-holders

[IMG: A stormy sea is filled with figures, some sitting on the limbs of submerged trees, others climbing a large rock. A shaft of light from the moon cuts through the dark clouds. In the background, a red sun sets.]

[H3] Inclusive Accessible Tour | William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy
Free for exhibition ticket-holders

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[IMG: Black and white photograph of two men sitting on a bench within the curved dome of St Paul]

Whispering Gallery, St. Paul’s Cathedral, 1962, 1962. Photograph by John Minihan. Copyright of University College Cork.

14 March - 11 October 2026Sir Hugh Lane Room | Admission free.This exhibition offers an insight into John Minihan’s extensive career, which spans over sixty years, exploring his experience of working as press photographer for the Daily Mail from the age of 16, which led to his introduction to Samuel Beckett, to his eventual relinquishment of media assignments in favour of more personal projects. From the outset of his career, Minihan’s pursuit of photographing “what might have gone unnoticed” and his desire to draw out the poetry of everyday life formed the core of his practice.Note: the exhibition will have two rotations during the run, with each rotation made up of approximately 30 wall-based works and 5–10 objects for display cases.Curator: Sarah McAuliffe, Curator of Irish Art Post 1900.

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Visual Poetry: The Photography of John Minihan
Curator's Introduction

Play

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You might also like:

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[H3] Public Tour: Slow Art Tour of LGBTQIA+ Artworks
A slower paced tour

[IMG: Students Sketching National Gallery of Ireland Schools Programme]

[H3] Public Tour: Sketching Tour of LGBTQIA+ Artworks
Explore the collection on this sketching tour

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[IMG: A drawing of various coloured lizards, scorpions, frogs and snakes]

Stephen McKenna, Stamp from 1955, Republic of Silesia, c. 2005, © Estate of Stephen McKenna, Centre for the Study of Irish Art, National Gallery of Ireland

Opens 26 June 2025
Room 11 | Admission free
Créatúir na Cartlainne | Tails from the Archive celebrates our relationship with animals – as a source of joy, humour, awe, inspiration and companionship. Beloved pets, tiny creatures and wild beasts emerge from the archives of the Centre for the Study of Irish Art; hidden between the pages of sketchbooks and illustrated letters, or captured forever in watercolours and maquettes.
The Irish language offers further insight into our connection with the animal world. Layers of wisdom and folk memory are expressed in humorous and evocative words such as bearrthóir (tail-chewing animal) and cluasachán (long-eared animal), and in poetic seanfhocail or Irish proverbs. Familiar and forgotten Irish words reveal a playful, empathetic and keenly observant relationship with living creatures – one that reflects the curiosity and delight in depicting the animal world that we repeatedly encounter in artist archives. ‘Tails from the Archive’ unleashes a menagerie of hidden animals – from both the Irish art archives and from the depths of the Irish dictionary – and reminds us to cherish the lively and descriptive lyricism of our language. There we may rediscover past ways of understanding and co-existing with our fellow creatures.
To preserve our works on paper, this exhibition will be presented in four curated rotations, highlighting recent acquisitions to the Centre for the Study of Irish Art. Featured artists include Stephen McKenna, Nancy Wynne-Jones, Conor Fallon, Bea Orpen, Barrie Cooke, Elizabeth C. Yeats, Oisín Kelly, Anne Yeats, Daniel O’Neill, Justin Larkin, Basil Rákóczi, Jack B. Yeats, Deborah Brown, Walter Osborne and William Orpen.

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You might also like:

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[H3] Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone. The Art of Friendship
10 April - 10 August 2025

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[H3] Picasso: From the Studio
9 October 2025 - 22 February 2026

[H3] Maurice Marinot – On Paper, In Glass
2 August 2025 - 25 January 2026

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[H3] Ludovico Mazzolino: The Crossing of the Red Sea
15 February - 6 July 2025