About Samual Walsh
He is an ardent promoter of contemporary drawing and to this end he founded in 1987 with support from friends, the National Collection of Contemporary Drawing that was gifted by them to the Limerick City Gallery of Art in 1991. The collection has continued to grow as new works are added to it on a regular basis and also contains drawings on permanent loan from the Arts Council of Ireland's Drawing Collection.
In 1997 he was elected a member of Aosdána, a body set up by the Irish Government through the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon to recognise outstanding contributions by individuals to the creative arts in Ireland. He served as a member of Aosdána's Toscaireacht from 2007-2009. He is a Fellow of the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo.
He has been selected for international artist residencies, most notably in SWITZERLAND in 1990,FRANCE in 1995 & 2002, the USA in 2009, and in GERMANY in 2012 (see also Residencies page).
He taught drawing at the Limerick School of Art & Design from 1987 to 1997. In 2005 he was the Professor of Drawing for the Autumn semester at the Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art, Brittany, FRANCE. He has also been a visiting lecturer to this college and to the National College of Art & Design, Dublin and the Burren College of Art, Co. Clare. He taught on the Drawing Studies Course at the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, annually between 2008-2010.
He has given workshops on drawing in art centres and art galleries throughout Ireland.
Since 2009 he has given a number of lectures of a polemical nature on the place of drawing in art and the influence of Old Master paintings and sculpture on contemporary artists at the National Gallery of Art, Dublin.
He features in the 2012 documentary film 'The Art Tribe', made by Fubar Film and directed by Fintan Connolly. The film has yet to be shown publically.