RTÉ have announced that actor Tom Vaughan-Lawlor will play Hugh Lane in an upcoming RTÉ One feature drama documentary entitled Citizen Lane, about the life and times of the art dealer and philanthropist.
The film is written by IFTA-winning actor and screenwriter Mark O'Halloran (Adam & Paul, Garage), and directed by TV and film veteran Thaddeus O’ Sullivan (December Bride, Amber, Silent Witness).
Filming will take place this October at Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane on Parnell Square, the institution established (as the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art) by Lane in 1908.
Best known for his work in RTÉ's Love/Hate, Vaughan-Lawlor is currently filming a top secret role in the new Avengers movie, and stars in prison escape drama Maze, which hits Irish cinemas later this month.
For many Irish people, particularly Dubliners, Hugh Lane is a well-known name - but relatively few know the story behind the man, a citizen who was arguably Ireland’s greatest ever benefactor of the arts.
Citizen Lane is described as 'an Irish odyssey set amid the cultural and political ferment of artistic and cultural experience in the early 20th century', and follows Lane’s hard-fought project to establish the world’s first public modern art gallery, his untimely death on the Lusitania, and his contested will.
That story continues to the present day, in the long-running campaign to recover for Ireland Lane’s bequest to the state of 39 paintings, including works by Monet, Renoir and Manet.
Citizen Lane also features Derbhle Crotty as Lady Gregory and Marty Rea playing William Orpen; the film will include interviews with contemporary contributors, reflecting upon Lane's life and legacy.
The feature-length documentary is due to air on RTÉ One next year.
