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Front Cover: This issue of New Hibernia Review presents the second of four lesser-known works by the artist Seán Keating (1889–1977) that will appear on our 2013 volume, in this case a work titled Reflection in a Mirror.
Like the self-portrait that was featured on our previous cover, this painting was only recently found, and was very dirty at the time of its discovery. It was painted some time around 1912 or 1913, and very much reflects the teaching concerns of William Orpen, with whom Keating studied at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin: attention to detail, atmosphere, material, and the use of reflection. The recent conservation revealed that, although the statue staring into the mirror is carved from marble, her reflection is actually human. The painting is surely a comment on the ancient Greek sculptor, Pygmalion, who fell in love with his statue of a beautiful woman. The statue, in turn, became human as a result of a blessing from Venus. Reflection in a Mirror is the earliest example of Keating’s intellectual preoccupation with allegorical meaning in his work. Keating went on to become one of the best-known Irish allegorical painters of his age.
The painting is now held in a private collection. We thank the Keating Estate for kind permission to present this image. We are grateful to Dr. Éimear O’Connor of the TRIARC-Irish Art Research Centre at Trinity College Dublin, and a member of our editorial board, whose study Seán Keating: Art, Politics and Building the Nation (ISBN-10: 0716531615) was published this spring by Irish Academic Press. Dr. O’Connor has generously assisted us in presenting this memorable work to our readers, and also helped in composing this note.

New Hibernia Review

In this Issue

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Listowel, 1950: Scenes from a North Kerry Childhood
Cyril Kelly
pp. 9-16
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nhr.2013.0016

Abductions in Nineteenth-Century Ireland
Maria Luddy
pp. 17-44
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nhr.2013.0014

Paula Meehan's Gardens
Kathryn Kirkpatrick
pp. 45-61
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nhr.2013.0024

Filíocht Nua: New Poetry
Tony Curtis
pp. 62-69
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nhr.2013.0022

John Carey and the American Dream
Anne Markey
pp. 70-85
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nhr.2013.0020

Expressing "Irishness" in Three Irish-American Autobiographies
Jennifer McClinton-Temple
pp. 103-118
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nhr.2013.0017

Faith, Nature, and Science in the Works of Canon Sheehan
Don O'Leary
pp. 119-135
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nhr.2013.0015

May, Lou and Cass: Jane Austen's Nieces in Ireland by Sophia Hillan (review)
Shannon Scott
pp. 155-158
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nhr.2013.0026

Speech Lessons by John Montague (review)
Kelly Matthews
pp. 158-160
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nhr.2013.0028

Nótaí na nEagarthóirí: Editors' Notes
pp. 5-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/nhr.2013.0021

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Volume 17, Number 1, Earrach/Spring 2013

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Volume 17, Number 3, Autumn/Fómhar, 2013

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