George  'AE'  Russell  (1867-1935)

Self-Portrait  from  the  Armagh  County  Museum

1903

 

 

As  briefly  outlined  in  the  biographical  page,  Deirdre's  current  research  focuses  on  the  so-called  'dream'  paintings  of  George  AE  Russell.  He  used  the  pseudonym  AE,  short  for  Aeon,  as  this  was  allegedly the  first  Gnostic 'created  being'.  It  was  only  because  of  Russell's  appalling  handwriting  that  the  printer  of  his  first  forays  into  the  writing  world,  was  unable  to  descipher  his  signature  and  so  abbreviated  it  to  a  simple  'AE' - which  Russell  continued  to  use  throughout  his  life  although  he  also  incorporated  other  abbreviations  such  as  YO.  However,  it  is  as  AE  that  the  majority  of  his  acquantances  knew  him.  He  first  became  interested  in  theosophy  while  at  art  college  in  Dublin  where  he  met  the  poet,  W.B.  Yeats  (1865-1939)  who  introduced  eastern  writings  and  theosophical  doctrine  to  his  circle  of  friends.  The  first  Theosophical  Lodge  was  established  in  Dublin  in  1886  by  another  friend,  Charles  Johnston  (1867-1931)  although  AE  did  not  officially  join  until  some  years  later.

 

  Theosophy  basically  focused  on  three  important  tenets;  firstly,  a  universal  brotherhood  of  man  in  which  all  creeds  and  religions  were  equal  without  distinction  of  class  or  creed;  secondly,  the  study  of  comparative  religion,  philosophy  and  science;  and  thirdly,  the  exploration  of  the  latent  powers  of  nature  and  man.  Theosophy  in  this  format  originated  in  America  in  1875  under  Madame  H.P.  Blavatsky  (1831-1891)  and  Colonel  Henry  Steel  Olcott  (1832-1907)  who  had  fought  in  the  American  Civil  War.  Although  the  name  theosophy  had  existed  for  many  centuries,  its  associations  with  secrecy  and  secret  doctrine  are  mainly  linked  with  Blavatsy's  movement.

                                          

                                          

 Theosophy  grew  hugely  popular  and  spread  its  doctrine  worldwide.  While  Blavatsky  and  Olcott's  headquarters  were  in  India,  many  lodges  in  places  such  as  London  and  Belgium  were  established  as  a  result  of  its  growing  popularity.  Much  of  this  can   be  attributed  to  a   pervading  fin-de-siecle  anxiousness  as  the  industrial  world  greatly  expanded  and  the  position  of  man/woman   in  the  world  against  that  of  the  machine,  was  questioned.  Dublin,  proved  no  exception  although  the  majority  of  those  involved  in  the  Theosphical  Movement  belonged  to  a  minority  section,  that  of  the  Anglo-Irish  whose  own  position within  Irish  society  was  undergoing  dramatic  change.  Their  role  as  the  ascendancy  in  Ireland  had  become  undermined  through  a  series  of  Acts  in  the  British  Parliament  which  among  other  things  gave  the  tenants  rights  to  buy  out  their  land.  This,  coupled  with  a  growing  sense  of  Irish  identity,  exemplified  in  new  movements  such  as  the  Gaelic  League  and  the  Gaelic  Athletic  Association,  compounded  the  perception  of  two  cultures,  that  of  A  minority  Protestant  Irish  culture  and  a  majority  Catholic  Celtic  culture.  Added  to  this,  new  discoveries  of  ancient  antiquities,  and  an  emerging  passion  for  all  things  past,  meant  that  the  Anglo-Irish  had  to  re-establish  themselves  within  Irish  society  in  order  to  maintain  a  relevance.  

 

  And   so,  this  period,  at  the  turn  of  the  twentieth  century  became  known  as  the  Celtic  Revival  or  Irish  Renaissance,  led  by  cultural  figures  such  as  AE  and  his  circle,  intent  on  re-invigorating  and  renewing  a  sense  of  distinction  between  Ireland  and  her  colonial  Overlord,  Britain.  All  things  Gaelic,  Celtic  and  'uniquely'  Irish  were  encouraged.  Ireland's  'heroic'  past  in  which  legends  from  pre-Christian  Ireland   flourished  were  incorporated  within  this  renewal.  AE's  visions  of  mystical  beings  became  in  his  mind,  exemplers  of  an  ancient,  hierarchical,  aristiocratic  'Golden  Age'  akin  to  that  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome.  These  'beings'  were  furthermore,  in   AE's  view,  also  symbolic  of  those  from  theosophical  doctrine,  prototypes  or  originals  of  all  human  beings.  All  that  was  needed  to  become  at  'one'  with  our  ancient  ancestors,  was  a  willingness  to  follow  the  'secret  doctrine'  as  laid  down  in  theosophical  philosophy,  becoming  equal  with  all  beings  and  things,  and  meditation  and  harmony  with  nature.  Ireland's  pre-eminent  ancient  past,  was  uniquely  apposite  in  demonstrating  this  ideology  and  AE's  'dream'  paintings  attempted  to  manifest  his  belief  in  visible  form.

 

       To  view  some  of  AE's  paintings  please  view  his  collections  in  the  following  repositories:

 

Armagh  County  Museum,  Armagh,  Northern  Ireland

Dublin  Municipal  Gallery,  The  Hugh  Lane,  Dublin,  Ireland

The  National  Gallery  of  Ireland

Lissadell  House,  County  Sligo,  Ireland