Madam, - The proposal in your Editorial of January 2nd that a museum dedicated to Jack B. Yeats be established has my full backing, in view of the talent of Yeats and his international reputation. But I believe that such a Museum should be in Sligo and not in Dublin, for several reasons:
1. One of the largest collections of Jack B. Yeats paintings in public ownership is currently housed in the Model and Niland Gallery in Sligo and could form the nucleus of a national collection.
2. Yeats and his family are synonymous with Sligo. Much of his work was inspired by the wonderful scenery of the county, as was that of his brother William.
3. Sligo is a gateway city, and one way to counteract the overwhelming growth of Dublin is to develop artistic and cultural centres of national importance outside the capital. The Crawford Gallery in Cork has recently gained such designation and I believe the Model and Niland Gallery in Sligo worthy of the same. 4. Recent statistics show an increasing concentration of tourism on the eastern seaboard. the establishment of museums and galleries of national importance in the west will counterbalance this. - Is mise,
Dr JIMMY DEVINS TD, Mail Coach Road, Sligo.
Madam, - With regard to your Editorial of January 2nd, Jack B. Yeats is not, in my opinion, comparable to Munch in Norway nor Van Gogh in the Netherlands (apart from the logistical problems of a dedicated museum).
There is, apart from rare exceptions, no native Irish visual art (painting, architecture, etc). The art of the Irish is verbal art, the art of the word, which calls for a different kind of "museum". - Yours, etc,
ROLF BAUMGARTEN, Glenvara Park, Dublin 16.