George Francis Mulvany
George Francis Mulvany (1809 – 1869) was an Irish painter and the first director of the National Gallery of Ireland. Biography. George Francis Mulvany was the son of Thomas James Mulvany, a painter and the RHA's keeper. George Francis Mulvany studied at the Academy school and would first exhibit there in 1827. In 1835 he became a member of the RHA, and took over as keeper upon his father's death in 1845. Mulvany became the first director of the National Gallery of Ireland in 1862.