Brother Joseph McNally

(b. 1923 – 2002, Ireland)    

Brother Joseph McNally was an important artist and art educator in Singapore, perhaps best known as the founder and first president of LASALLE College of the Arts. Born in 1923, he spent his childhood in the Irish countryside of County Mayo, during which he was immersed in the natural landscapes, spiritualism, and history of his home town. Inspired by the natural and cultural features of his home town, McNally developed an early interest in art and clay sculpture. He began seriously pursuing an art career while teaching at the De La Salle College in Mallow in 1943, and in 1946 won the first prize in a nationwide painting competition at the Festival of Limerick. Later, as part of the Catholic La Salle Christian Brotherhood, McNally spent close to four decades teaching in Singapore and Malaysia, establishing the LASALLE College of the Arts in 1984. In 1985, he became a Singaporean citizen, and continued to contribute to the Singaporean art scene as an educator, artist, and arts advocate.

As an artist, McNally’s practice was deeply influenced by nature and spirituality. His pieces often drew from Celtic motifs, various cultural mythologies, and his own religious beliefs. After spending many years in Southeast Asia, the regional values and imagery he experienced also influenced his work. McNally also received a rich art education, studying at the Irish National College of Art in Dublin from 1951 to 1954, and later completing a Master’s degree at Columbia University in New York in 1968. He practiced art prolifically during and beyond these years, painting several murals at Catholic churches and educational institutions in Singapore, Penang, and Myanmar, and creating works in a range of mediums including painting, printmaking, wood, glass, polyester, wax and bronze casting. While he was skilled at a broad range of techniques, he ultimately grew to favour three-dimensional sculpture over the flatness of painting, and established himself as a masterful sculptor.