John O'Connor (painter)
Encyclopedia
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
.
Personal life
Born in 1830, the third son of Francis O’Connor and his wife, Rose Cunningham of Bath, he was left an orphan at the age of twelve. His uncle, a lessee of the BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
theaters, provided him with work as a call-boy and an assistant in scene-painting at the Belfast theater. He married Ann Butler Fairburn on 30 Dec 1851 at St John the Evangelist in Upper Holloway, and they had 2 boys: Francis (born 1853) and John Peter (born 1854). Unfortunately Ann died on 17 Jul 1860 at their home 6 Waverly Place, Marylebone. John then married Ann's half sister Ellen Fairburn on 9 Jan 1862 at Islington Parish Church, and they had 2 sons: Henry (born 1862) and Joseph William (born 1864). His grandson Terence George, by his son John Peter, married Angela Mary O'Connor (née Ashford) - the sister of daisy Ashford - the young authoress of the famous book The Young Visitors. 1888 saw John O'Connor's health start to fail through heart disease, and he finally died at Heathcroft, Yately, Hampshire on 23 May 1889. He was survived by his wife Ellen who herself died in 1931 at Edmonton, Middlesex.
Career
Having become a proficient painter O'Connor found employment in 1848 at Drury LaneTheatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
, and from 1863 was Principle Scene Painter at the Haymarket Theater. He began to exhibit at the Society of British Artists in 1854, and at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
from 1857 until 1888. During this time he became popular with the Royal family, and produced drawings of many important Court ceremonials: 1871 Drawing of Marriage of Princess Louise; 1872 Drawing of the Thanksgiving Service in St Pauls; 1874 Drawing of the arrival of Duke/Duchess of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace; 1887 Drawing of the Jubilee Service, Westminster Abbey. He also exhibited at various exhibitions and galleries, amongst them: 1849 - Painted "Diorama of the Queen's Visit" - exhibited at the Chinese Gallery, London; 1854 - Exhibited Landscapes at the Society of British Artists; the Royal Watercolour Society
Royal Watercolour Society
The Royal Watercolour Society is an English institution of painters working in watercolours...
and the Royal Hibernian Academy
Royal Hibernian Academy
The Royal Hibernian Academy is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823.-History:The RHA was founded as the result of 30 Irish artists petitioning the government for a charter of incorporation...
from 1875 until his death.