George O'Brien (painter)
Encyclopedia
George O'Brien was an engineer of aristocratic background who turned to art in 19th century Australasia
, dying in poverty but leaving a body of remarkable work.
County Clare, Ireland
in 1821 he was the fifth son of Admiral Robert O'Brien, a direct descendant of Murrough O'Brien, 57th King of Thomond Baron Inchiquin
, and of Brian Boroimhe, Monarch of Ireland (?-1014). George O'Brien was a first cousin of William Smith O'Brien
(1803-1864) deported to Tasmania
for his part in the 1848 'Young Ireland' uprising, and a cousin too of James Fitzgerald
, at one time Superintendent of the Canterbury Province
in New Zealand
.
Despite these distinguished connections the family was not well-heeled. Young George O'Brien may have been trained by a brother as a civil engineer. His parents died when he was young and it seems that by a very early age he was in Melbourne
, Australia
. Views of the town dated 1839 and 1840 survive in the collection of the state library
. It seems he left soon afterwards but was back by 1850 arriving from London on the Midlothian. He worked as a draughtsman in the surveyor's office and in 1853 married Jane Mashford at St. James' church Melbourne. He was active in the Victoria Fine Arts Society and by 1854 was advertising his services as an architect and surveyor. He exhibited paintings in 1856 and 1858 and nine signed and dated watercolours of St. Kilda and nearby places in Melbourne are recorded.
By December 1863 O'Brien was living at Duncan Street in Dunedin
New Zealand
no doubt attracted by the prosperity induced by the Otago gold rushes. He worked as a civil engineer; was employed at times by the Town Board and supplied architectural perspectives of buildings designed by several Dunedin firms. He seems to have had more than a nodding acquaintance with R.A. Lawson. A number of O'Brien's watercolours were exhibited in the 1865 New Zealand Industrial Exhibition. He associated with W.M. Hodgkins, a lawyer and aspiring watercolour painter who became very influential in Dunedin's art world. O'Brien may have given Hodgkins some instruction. O'Brien's manner showed his background in measured draughtsmanship but also represented a kind of neo-classical painting. In the colonial context he was unusual in taking buildings and townscape as his subject matter. In 1876 he attended a meeting of the Otago Art Society and was well-represented in that body's inaugural annual exhibition held later that year. His paintings were ill-received by one critic, probably Thomas Bracken
, which represents the arrival in New Zealand of the new taste for Turneresque Romantic landscape and the beginning of the demise of O'Brien's more old-fashioned neo-classicism. Nevertheless, when O'Brien's wife died in 1879, leaving him with five daughters to raise, he embarked on a career as a professional artist.
He was versatile and energetic travelling around southern New Zealand, but also a heavy drinker and immensely fat. His habits were bohemian and eventually his oldest daughter, now married, removed her younger siblings while O'Brien continued lodging with a sailor and his wife in a poor part of the city. He spent a year in Auckland
in 1887 but returned to Dunedin where he died on the 30th of August 1888. His landlady inherited his residual collection and he was interred in a then unmarked grave in the northern cemetery.
as a topographer untouched by artistic fashion he is not that but a highly able neo-classical painter with a most unusual urban vision.
The late 20th century saw a number of exhibitions toured around the country and new studies of his work. His 'Designs of R.A.Lawson', now in the Otago Settlers Museum
Dunedin, is often reproduced and his 'Dunedin from the Junction' 1869, in the same repository, is well known. His 'Water of Leith Brewery' of about 1865 (also in the Otago Settlers Museum) is an excellent example of his urban vision while 'Lawyer's Head from Forbury Head...' of 1870, in the collection of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery
represents his pure landscape work somewhere near its best. He is represented in the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, the National Gallery of Victoria
Melbourne, and in all the major New Zealand public collections, but most notably in the Otago Settlers Museum and the Hocken Collections, Dunedin.
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
, dying in poverty but leaving a body of remarkable work.
Biography
While many people called 'O'Brien' like to fancy they are descended from the kings of Ireland the colonial artist really was. Born at Dromoland CastleDromoland Castle
Dromoland Castle is a castle, now a luxury hotel with golf course, located near Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare, Ireland. Its restaurant, the Earl of Thomond, was awarded a Michelin star in 1995.The present building was completed in 1835...
County Clare, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1821 he was the fifth son of Admiral Robert O'Brien, a direct descendant of Murrough O'Brien, 57th King of Thomond Baron Inchiquin
Baron Inchiquin
Baron Inchiquin is one of the older titles in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1543 for Murrough O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, who was descended from the great high king Brian Boru)...
, and of Brian Boroimhe, Monarch of Ireland (?-1014). George O'Brien was a first cousin of William Smith O'Brien
William Smith O'Brien
William Smith O'Brien was an Irish Nationalist and Member of Parliament and leader of the Young Ireland movement. He was convicted of sedition for his part in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, but his sentence of death was commuted to deportation to Van Diemen's Land. In 1854, he was...
(1803-1864) deported to Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
for his part in the 1848 'Young Ireland' uprising, and a cousin too of James Fitzgerald
James FitzGerald
James Edward FitzGerald was a New Zealand politician. According to some historians, he should be considered the country's first Prime Minister, although a more conventional view is that neither he nor his successor should properly be given that title. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand...
, at one time Superintendent of the Canterbury Province
Canterbury Province
The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. On the east coast the province was bounded by the Hurunui River in the north and the Waitaki River in the south...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Despite these distinguished connections the family was not well-heeled. Young George O'Brien may have been trained by a brother as a civil engineer. His parents died when he was young and it seems that by a very early age he was in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Views of the town dated 1839 and 1840 survive in the collection of the state library
State Library
A state library is usually a library established by the government of a state to serve as the preeminent repository of information for that state...
. It seems he left soon afterwards but was back by 1850 arriving from London on the Midlothian. He worked as a draughtsman in the surveyor's office and in 1853 married Jane Mashford at St. James' church Melbourne. He was active in the Victoria Fine Arts Society and by 1854 was advertising his services as an architect and surveyor. He exhibited paintings in 1856 and 1858 and nine signed and dated watercolours of St. Kilda and nearby places in Melbourne are recorded.
By December 1863 O'Brien was living at Duncan Street in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
no doubt attracted by the prosperity induced by the Otago gold rushes. He worked as a civil engineer; was employed at times by the Town Board and supplied architectural perspectives of buildings designed by several Dunedin firms. He seems to have had more than a nodding acquaintance with R.A. Lawson. A number of O'Brien's watercolours were exhibited in the 1865 New Zealand Industrial Exhibition. He associated with W.M. Hodgkins, a lawyer and aspiring watercolour painter who became very influential in Dunedin's art world. O'Brien may have given Hodgkins some instruction. O'Brien's manner showed his background in measured draughtsmanship but also represented a kind of neo-classical painting. In the colonial context he was unusual in taking buildings and townscape as his subject matter. In 1876 he attended a meeting of the Otago Art Society and was well-represented in that body's inaugural annual exhibition held later that year. His paintings were ill-received by one critic, probably Thomas Bracken
Thomas Bracken
Thomas Bracken was a noted late 19th century poet. He wrote "God Defend New Zealand", one of the two National anthems of New Zealand and was the first person to publish the phrase "God's Own Country" as applied to New Zealand.-Background and early years:Bracken was born at Clones, County...
, which represents the arrival in New Zealand of the new taste for Turneresque Romantic landscape and the beginning of the demise of O'Brien's more old-fashioned neo-classicism. Nevertheless, when O'Brien's wife died in 1879, leaving him with five daughters to raise, he embarked on a career as a professional artist.
He was versatile and energetic travelling around southern New Zealand, but also a heavy drinker and immensely fat. His habits were bohemian and eventually his oldest daughter, now married, removed her younger siblings while O'Brien continued lodging with a sailor and his wife in a poor part of the city. He spent a year in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
in 1887 but returned to Dunedin where he died on the 30th of August 1888. His landlady inherited his residual collection and he was interred in a then unmarked grave in the northern cemetery.
Legacy
Since his death O'Brien's reputation has improved. Hailed by people like Rodney Kennedy and Colin McCahonColin McCahon
Colin John McCahon was a prominent New Zealand artist. During his life he also worked in art galleries and as a university lecturer...
as a topographer untouched by artistic fashion he is not that but a highly able neo-classical painter with a most unusual urban vision.
The late 20th century saw a number of exhibitions toured around the country and new studies of his work. His 'Designs of R.A.Lawson', now in the Otago Settlers Museum
Otago Settlers Museum
The Otago Settlers Museum is a regional history museum in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its brief covers the territory of the old Otago Province, that is, New Zealand from the Waitaki River south. It is New Zealand's oldest and most extensive history museum...
Dunedin, is often reproduced and his 'Dunedin from the Junction' 1869, in the same repository, is well known. His 'Water of Leith Brewery' of about 1865 (also in the Otago Settlers Museum) is an excellent example of his urban vision while 'Lawyer's Head from Forbury Head...' of 1870, in the collection of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Dunedin Public Art Gallery
The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, municipal chambers, and other facilities such as the Regent Theatre.-History:The gallery was founded by...
represents his pure landscape work somewhere near its best. He is represented in the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, the National Gallery of Victoria
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. Since December 2003, NGV has operated across two sites...
Melbourne, and in all the major New Zealand public collections, but most notably in the Otago Settlers Museum and the Hocken Collections, Dunedin.