Irish-German sculptor Imogen Stuart dies at age 96

Imogen Stuart, (née Werner), a pioneering female artist and one of Ireland's leading sculptors, has died. Born in Berlin in 1927, Imogen Stuart's artistic legacy spans over seven decades, leaving a lasting mark on Ireland's cultural landscape. Her remarkable career saw her creating an extensive array of sculptures, each bearing her unique and expressive style.

Moving to Ireland in 1949 after marrying Ian Stuart, Imogen Stuart's art was influenced by both her German heritage and the artistic traditions of her adopted homeland. Throughout her career, Stuart's sculptures blended German expressionism and native Irish art, culture and beliefs.

Stuart's works decorated numerous churches and public spaces, including the Angel of Peace at St Teresa's Carmelite Church in Dublin, the ornate doors of Galway Cathedral, and the iconic Flame of Human Dignity in Paris.

In a post on X, Dublin Castle wrote: "Today (25th March, 2024) marks the death of Imogen Stuart, the German-Irish sculptor. She was one of Ireland's best known sculptors with work in public and private collections throughout Europe and the U.S.
Recently Dublin Castle (OPW) hosted the IMOGEN exhibition in the Coach House Gallery (November 2023 - February 2024) which exhibited the diverse range and breadth of Stuart's work over seven decades.
We are very sad to hear of her death, but honoured to have displayed some of her remarkable work on site."

So sad to hear of the death of the incredible Imogen Stuart. Love this quote from Mary McAleese - “Imogen is such a human being, that if she never painted or sculpted a thing, she would still be a remarkably vibrant, generous, life-enhancing human being.” https://t.co/DaxiBOzggZ https://t.co/edWnh4hZfI

— Cristín Leach (@cristinleach) March 25, 2024

Stuart was honoured with membership of Aosdána and the title of Saoi in 2015. Her last major design was unveiled in May 2022, and is a granite standing stone, Stele, carved by Ciaran Byrne, on a hillock adjacent to the Forty Foot in Sandycove with carved representations of King Laoghaire and St Patrick on two sides.

That work was officially unveiled by President Michael D Higgins. Opening a 2022 retrospective of her work in Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Mr Higgins said: “As a nation we can be deeply grateful to Imogen for her great spirit of generosity and for the rich wealth of public art which has so enhanced our society and our shared environment.”