Title of artwork: Schoolwork
Artist: Blaise Smith
Year: 2011–2012
Commissioner: Presentation College, Carlow
Funder: Per Cent for Arts Scheme
Per Cent for Arts Location: Presentation College, Carlow
What does everyday life in an Irish secondary school look like? Not just the big moments—the exams, the school plays, the end-of-year celebrations—but the small, ordinary interactions that shape the rhythm of the school day?
This is the essence of Schoolwork, a series of 20 paintings by realist painter Blaise Smith, commissioned under the Per Cent for Arts Scheme by Presentation College, Carlow. Smith spent an entire academic year as artist-in-residence, setting up his easel in classrooms, corridors, and common spaces to capture the spirit of the school in real time.
The result is not just a portrait of Presentation College but a broader depiction of Ireland’s education system in the 21st century—one that, like all great documentary art, will only become more valuable with time.
Inspiration
The idea behind Schoolwork was simple but profound: if an artist had been commissioned to paint a school 100 years ago, what kind of historical record would we have today? What insights would we gain into the education system, the architecture, the way students and teachers interacted?
Smith set out to answer that question for the present day. His work doesn’t just depict classrooms and corridors—it captures the relationships, body language, and everyday rhythms of school life. “What I see is what you get,” Smith explains. His focus is not on staged or idealised moments, but on the quiet authenticity of real life as it unfolds.
By painting exclusively from life, he ensured that every brushstroke reflected the actual experience of being in the room, observing a lesson in progress, a conversation between students, or a teacher deep in thought.
Process
The Schoolwork project unfolded over the course of an academic year, from September 2011 to June 2012. Smith worked in classrooms daily, painting students, teachers, and the very fabric of the school itself. His approach was immersive—rather than working from photographs or sketches, he painted everything as he saw it, in real time.
From Home Economics to Chemistry, from lunchtime in the canteen to quiet moments of study, the paintings depict a full cross-section of school life. The images are striking in their realism yet fluid in execution—though they appear meticulously detailed, closer inspection reveals a looseness and immediacy that comes from painting directly from life.
The project was rooted in deep engagement with the school community. As Smith painted, students and teachers became part of the process, observing their own world being documented in a way rarely seen in public art commissions. The result was a strong sense of ownership and connection to the finished work.
The paintings were exhibited at VISUAL Carlow in October 2012 before moving to the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork in early 2013. The Home Economics Room portrait was also selected for the prestigious BP Portrait Award in London in 2013. Today, the full series remains in the school, serving as both an artistic landmark and a living historical document.
Collaboration
Public art commissions in schools thrive when they involve the whole community, and Schoolwork is a perfect example of this. Unlike a sculpture or an installation, the work took shape in full view of the students and staff, allowing them to see their environment through an artist’s eyes.
Smith’s presence in the school wasn’t just about capturing images—it was about making the familiar visible in new ways. His paintings invite reflection, encouraging students to see their daily routines as part of a bigger picture. The sense of involvement and representation fostered through the project ensures that Schoolwork remains deeply meaningful to those who lived it.
About the artist
Blaise Smith is one of Ireland’s most celebrated realist painters, known for his ability to capture everyday scenes with extraordinary depth and precision. Born in 1967, he has exhibited widely, including at the Royal Hibernian Academy (where he was elected an Associate Member in 2012) and the National Portrait Gallery in London.
His work spans portraiture, landscape, and documentary painting, with a particular focus on capturing communities and shared experiences. In Schoolwork, his eye for detail and commitment to painting from life combine to create a series that is as much a historical document as it is an artistic achievement.
Legacy
Schoolwork remains a unique public art commission—one that tells the story of an Irish school not through a single iconic image but through a series of moments, stitched together in paint. As the years pass, the paintings will become an even more valuable record, offering future generations a glimpse into secondary school life in 2012.
The collection continues to hang in Presentation College, forming part of the school’s identity and history. For students and staff, past and present, it serves as a reminder of their shared experience—of the fleeting, everyday moments that make up school life, now preserved in oil paint for generations to come.