Francis Joseph O'Meara (30 March 1853 – 15 October 1888) was an Irish artist known for his
Impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
landscape painting.
Life
Frank O'Meara was born in
Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
30 March 1853, to Thomas and Sarah O'Meara (née Isbourne). The youngest of seven children, his father was a medical doctor, and his grandfather Dr
Barry Edward O'Meara
Barry Edward O'Meara (1786–1836), born in Newtown House, Newtown-on-Sea (now known as Blackrock), Dublin, was an Irish surgeon and founding member of the Reform Club, who accompanied Napoleon to Saint Helena and became his physician, having bee ...
was
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's physician on
St. Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
. The family lived at 37 Dublin Street, Carlow, and O'Meara likely attended
St. Mary's Knockbeg College. From 1869 to 1871 O'Meara lived in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, when he may have continued his education or received private art lessons. An early sketchbook that survives from this time shows landscape studies from around
County Carlow
County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...
, as well as studies of churches and animals. Two of O'Meara's siblings died young, and his mother died in 1873. It is following this, that he moved to Paris, where his cousin
Kathleen O'Meara was a writer and correspondent for ''
The Tablet
''The Tablet'' is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017.
History
''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by a Quaker convert ...
''.
Artistic career
O'Meara became one of the first students of
Carolus Duran
Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (Lille 4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917 Paris), was a French painter and art instructor.
He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France.
Biograph ...
at 81
Boulevard Montparnasse
The Boulevard du Montparnasse is a two-way boulevard in Montparnasse, in the 6th, 14th and 15th arrondissements in Paris.
Situation
The boulevard joins the place Léon Paul Fargue and place Camille Jullian. The Tour Montparnasse and place du ...
, working alongside English, French and American students including
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...
.
Duran was heavily influenced by
Diego Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of th ...
, though there is little evidence of this influence in O'Meara's work. Whilst studying and socialising in Paris, fellow students did notice a predilection towards moodiness and introspection in his personality, which is reflected in his work.
Some have speculated that it was the loss of his two siblings and mother at a young age that cast this sense of melancholy over O'Meara's character.
In 1875, he visited the artists colonies, firstly in
Barbizon
Barbizon () is a commune (town) in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. It is located near the Fontainebleau Forest.
Demographics
The inhabitants are called ''Barbizonais''.
Art history
The Barbizon school of painters is name ...
, and then
Grez-sur-Loing
Grez-sur-Loing (, literally ''Grez on Loing''; formerly Grès-en-Gâtinais, literally ''Grès in Gâtinais'') is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France.
Sights
* The Church of Notre-Dame et Saint-Laurent ''(Church o ...
where he settled and eventually befriended
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
.
O'Meara stayed in Grez-sur-Loing for almost 11 years, with brief periods away during the winter or for exhibitions. He favoured painting ''
en plein air
''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors.
This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...
'', preferring low grey evening light.
During the spring of 1876
Fanny Osbourne
Frances "Fanny" Matilda Van de Grift Osbourne Stevenson (10 March 1840 – 18 February 1914) was an American magazine writer. She became a supporter and later the wife of Robert Louis Stevenson, and the mother of Isobel Osbourne, Samuel Lloyd ...
, and her daughter
Isobel Isobel, is the Scottish form of the female given name Isabel. It originates from the medieval form of the name Elisabeth (Hebrew Elisheba).
Isobel is a feminine given name. People named Isobel include:
* Isobel of Huntingdon (1199-1251), Scottish ...
arrived at Grez. The Osbournes and O'Meara developed a friendship, with the pair visiting galleries and museums in Paris, and painting together. When the Osbournes left to return to California in 1878, O'Meara presented a portrait of himself painted by John Singer Sargent to Isobel, with whom he is believed to have fallen in love.
Whilst many of his friends left Grez, O'Meara stayed, living at Hôtel Chevillon and continuing to paint.
There are a few characteristic elements of O'Meara's work: figures of lone women, often near water with bare autumnal trees, in evening light. There is a sense of melancholia in his work which some have attributed to his personal misfortune: his ill-health, living in near poverty, and two failed love affairs.
O'Meara was a popular companion amongst the English-speaking painters, including
John Lavery
Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was a Northern Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions.
Life and career
John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, baptised at St Patrick's Church, Belfast a ...
,
William Stott and
Carl Larsson
Carl Olof Larsson (; 28 May 1853 – 22 January 1919) was a Swedish painter representative of the Arts and Crafts movement. His many paintings include oils, watercolors, and frescoes. He is principally known for his watercolors of idyllic fam ...
.
Stott's work bears the strongest influence from O'Meara, though Lavery noted that of all the artists in Grez, O'Meara influenced him the most.
O'Meara exhibited ''Rêverie'' in "A collection of pictures by British artists from the Paris salon" at the Fine Art Society in London in July 1882, and some more work was shown at the Liverpool Autumn Exhibition in 1883 and at the
Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts
The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) is an independent organisation in Glasgow, founded in 1861, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Scotland. The institute organizes the largest and most prestigious annual art exhibitio ...
in 1884, 1885 and 1887.
O'Meara was a very slow painter, producing an average of just 3 pictures a year.
O'Meara returned to Carlow in the spring of 1888 and died on 15 October that year, aged thirty-five, having suffered from malaria for a number of years. He is regarded as never having reached his full potential as an artist due to his long illness and premature death. In 1879, O'Meara featured in one
Royal Hibernian Academy
The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the RIA, the academy retained the word "Royal" after most of Ireland became in ...
exhibition with the painting ''The old old story''. His father then lent one of his paintings to the Dublin Arts Club in 1889. His work was included in ''The peasant in nineteenth-century French art''n
The Douglas Hyde Gallery
The Douglas Hyde Gallery is a publicly funded contemporary art gallery situated within the historical setting of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.
When the Gallery opened in 1978, it was for a number of years Ireland's only public gallery of ...
, Dublin, in 1983, ''The Irish impressionists'' at the
National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...
in 1984 and
Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasure ...
in 1985, and ''Frank O'Meara and his contemporaries''
Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane
The Hugh Lane Gallery, officially Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane and originally the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, is an art museum operated by Dublin City Council and its subsidiary, the Hugh Lane Gallery Trust. It is in Charlemont House ( ...
,
Crawford Art Gallery
The Crawford Art Gallery ( ga, Áiléar Crawford) is a public art gallery and museum in the city of Cork, Ireland. Known informally as the Crawford, it was designated a 'National Cultural Institution' in 2006. It is "dedicated to the visual arts ...
, Cork, and Ulster Museum in 1989.
Five of his works hang at the
Hugh Lane Gallery of Modern Art, in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. Another can be viewed at the
Ulster Museum
The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasure ...
,
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
.
O'Meara's work has been described as being rediscovered in the late 1990s, with the prices of his paintings at auction reaching unforeseen prices. In May 1999, at a Christie's auction in London, ''Reverie'' sold for over ten times the estimate, at £496,500 sterling.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omeara, Frank
1853 births
1888 deaths
Irish Impressionist painters
Irish male painters
People educated at St Mary's Knockbeg College
People from County Carlow
19th-century Irish painters
19th-century Irish male artists