Imogen from the Heart, a brand-new fascinating arts documentary, follows the life of one of Ireland’s most celebrated artists, Imogen Stuart. The documentary, which will be broadcast on Thursday, December 7th at 10.15 pm on RTÉ One, was inspired and captured by her grandson Emile Dinneen. He has spent the last 13 years filming Imogen, who is now in her mid-90s and still busy creating.
The documentary delves into various aspects of a remarkable life from growing up in the Second World War in the heart of Nazi Berlin, to marrying into the bohemian world of Maud Gonne’s family, escaping a difficult marriage in the 1960s, and working as a sculptor in Ireland.
Over a career spanning 70 years, Imogen created an extraordinary body of work that appears in public spaces and private collections throughout the world. Today, Imogen is looked upon as one of Ireland’s most prolific sculptors. Her sculptures can be found in all corners of Ireland from The Fiddler of Dooney and Children in Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, to Saint Brendan the Navigator in Bantry, Co. Cork, and Pangur Bán at Áras an Uachtaráin in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.
During the film, Imogen visits Glendalough where her daughter Siobhán, who died in a car accident in the 1980s, is buried. Viewers get an intimate window into how she has coped with loss and tragedy while sharing her views on family, art, religion, and the meaning of life.
Tune into Imogen from the Heart on Thursday, December 7th at 10.15 pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
Sculptor Imogen Stuart(R) photographed by Conor Horgan with her grandson, film director Emile Dineen, in front of her sculture ‘Stele” 14.11.23