3 mins
Portrait by The Artist of a Young Man
Irish painter Stephen Doyle makes art history this month with his piece Dylan Is Ainm Dom. Shortlisted for the renowned Zurich Portrait Prize, it is the first painting to grace the walls of the National Gallery that openly discusses trans identity.
Dylan’s rendering is also a comment on how queer culture has developed outside wider society, with its own language and customs. Doyle says: “As Irish society moves toward a more inclusive future, we are expanding on what it means to be Irish. We are starting to see gender beyond what is simply assigned to us at birth. This portrait is not only a declaration of self-identity, but is also about national identity.”
Doyle’s portrait of Dylan will hang proudly in the National Gallery until January 2019.