George Galway MacCann ARCA ARUA (14 February 1909 – 4 November 1967) was a Northern Irish abstract painter and Modernist sculptor, writer and broadcaster.
[1] In addition to his studies under Moore, MacCann also attended a nightclass in stone-carving at Central London School of Arts and Crafts in 1932, and another at Chelsea Polytechnic.
When he was demobbed MacCann established himself on the teaching staff of Sullivan Upper School in Holywood where he remained for a short time.
[7] In 1949 MacCann and his wife moved into a flat at 23 Botanic Avenue which became known as a gathering place for artists, poets and writers on the Belfast scene.
At the behest of his wife MacCann had painted two murals in the property, one of Greek horses in the kitchen and another of the three Irish saints in the dining room.
[1] He contributed a small equestrian sculpture to the British Industries Fair at Earl's Court in 1954, one of six Ulster artists to show work, including Mercy Hunter, Cherith McKinstry and Dan O'Neill.
He enjoyed a real sense of mythology and an intuitive feeling for classical tradition which can be clearly seen, not only in figurative romantic encounters of legendary heroes, but also in some later abstract works which evoke an Aegean nuance.
He was a prolific writer, and in 1942 the Mourne Press published a collection of 12 short-stories, Sparrows Round My Brow, which was illustrated by his wife Mercy Hunter.
[1][15] In 1953 MacCann became a freelance commercial artist and completed work for the Group and Lyric Theatres in Belfast, and costumes for the Patricia Mulholland Irish Ballet, as well as murals in many pubs and restaurants.
[17][18] The following year MacCann designed the set for Joseph Connolly's latest play Master of the House at the Group Theatre, directed by James Ellis, with Harold Goldblatt filling the lead role.
As his funeral cortege passed down Botanic Avenue shops and businesses closed, and people lined the street to pay their respects.