Gerard Dillon - 'High Cross Panel', mixed media with oil, gouache and pastel on fifteen sheets of paper laid on board, circa 1949, Gerard Dillon Retrospective exhibition label verso, 112.5cm x 159cm, within a stained wood frame. Note: considered one of the artist's seminal works, the 'High Cross Panel' is inspired by Celtic relief sculptures that Dillon had sketched during his visits to Monasterboice and Mellifont Abbey with his friend, the artist Nano Reid. Although Dillon had grown disenchanted with the Catholic Church of his upbringing, Dillon's incorporation of Celtic Christian iconography can be seen as an attempt to connect with a distinctly Irish tradition. By referencing Celtic art, Dillon sought to position his work within the broader context of Irish artistic heritage. Provenance: P.J. Carroll & Co. Ltd. Art Collection; private collection. Exhibitions: Gerard Dillon Retrospective, Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, 1973. Illustrated: White, J. 'Gerard Dillion an Illustrated Biography' (Wolfhound Press, 1994), pp.26-27.