Harry Clarke: Bad Romance

Enter the inimitable imagination of Harry Clarke in this annual exhibition and encounter the celebrated artist’s remarkable book illustrations, delicate watercolour studies, and earliest works in stained glass.

Created in 1923, Clarke’s studies for The Eve of St Agnes window were inspired by a long Romantic poem by John Keats, while his lavish illustrations for Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery & Imagination look to a darker experience.

Purchased from the artist in 1924, these twenty-six national treasures in ink, watercolour, and stained glass range from the macabre to the amorous to the spiritual and have delighted, mesmerised, and even startled visitors for a century.

This exhibition brings Crawford Art Gallery’s full collection of Harry Clarke works together to offer visitors a rare and enriching experience of the beloved artist’s imagination and skill.

Curated by Michael Waldron