Gordon Lambert is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in Ireland's art world today - not for wielding a brush or mallet but for his many donations of art to the Irish Museum of Modern Art over the years. On Thursday afternoon, the gallery acknowledged this huge contribution by dedicating the galleries in the West Wing to him.
The Minister for Arts, Sile de Valera, made the keynote speech thanking Gordon for his generosity, but the point was perhaps made most eloquently by the massive backdrop behind Lambert himself - Barrie Cooke's famous painting of Megaceros Hibernicus or The Great Irish Elk, which he had previously donated to the gallery.
Gordon replied to the minister's remarks with a speech read out by IMMA's Philomena Byrne, in which he praised the gallery's director, Declan McGonagle, and marvelled at the gallery's progress. Among those attending were artist Robert Ballagh, members of the IMMA board Vera Ryan and Maurice Foley; Pat Murphy, director of the RHA Gallagher gallery and photographer Amelia Stein.