Framing Irish History – The Sean Sexton Collection looks at how Sean, over the last 50 years, put together his amazing collection of 23,000 photographs (the largest private collection of Irish photographs anywhere in the world), while – at the same time – examining some of the images as artefacts in a historical context. Interestingly, one of the most important Irish photographers of the mid 19th century was a woman, Lady Augusta Crofton, who was born in Co. Roscommon and spent most of her adult life at Clonbrock, near Ballinasloe. Sean has consistently championed her, reuniting together her albums over decades, as well as promoting other female photographers from that period, albeit slightly later, such as Louisa Warenne.
We see Sean talking us through the highlights of his collection, both in his modest apartment, and in a high security specialist storage facility, viewing and buying at auctions and searching for new items/photographs on market stalls and antique fairs, and visiting his home-place in Mullagh, Co. Clare. Interviewees include TRISH LAMBE, Artistic Director of Photo Museum Ireland; Dr. ORLA FITZPATRICK, photographic historian; MICHAEL HOPPEN of the Michael Hoppen Gallery in London; and PHILIPPE GARNER, formerly head of photographs at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The documentary also uses archive footage from a short RTÉ documentary, which dates from 1996.
At the age of 76, Sean is considering whether – and to whom – he might pass on his unique collection. This is partly owing to a robbery in 2020 but it is mainly because Sean is naturally aware of his legacy and the film concludes by looking briefly at what the future might hold.
