John O'Keeffe sometimes O'Keefe ( – April 1838) was an Irish portrait and figure

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Life

Born in Fermoy, County Cork of humble parentage, O'Keeffe began painting at an early age and was apprenticed to a coach painter. He began painting scenes for local theatres, working his way up to religious pictures for local Roman Catholic churches. In 1831 he sent a ''Portrait of a Lady'' and ''Crucifixion'' to the Royal Hibernian Academy. He left

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in 1834 for Dublin and continued to exhibit portrait and subject paintings. A painting from this period, ''A Sibyl'' (1835) was, as of 1913, held in the Museum of Cork. He exhibited a painting of the British army

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Edward Blakeney at the RHA in 1837. Just as his career was on the rise he died while on a visit to Limerick in April 1838. He left a widow and children. The

Crawford Gallery Crawford may refer to: Places Canada * Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia * Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario United Kingdom * Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England * Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a ...

holds a portrait of Nano Nagle attributed to O'Keeffe.

References

1790s births 1838 deaths 19th-century Irish painters Irish male painters People from Fermoy 19th-century Irish male artists Artists from County Cork {{Ireland-painter-stub