Kathleen Laetitia "Kate" O'Connor (14 September 1876 – 24 August 1968) was an

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 ...

painter with a career in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and France. She was a daughter of the celebrated engineer

C. Y. O'Connor Charles Yelverton O'Connor, (11 January 1843 – 10 March 1902), was an Irish engineer who is best known for his work in Western Australia, especially the construction of Fremantle Harbour, thought to be impossible, and the Goldfields Water Sup ...

Biography

O'Connor was born in

Hokitika, New Zealand Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of . ...

the daughter of Charles Yelverton O'Connor and his wife Susan Laetitia O'Connor (née Ness). She was educated at Marsden School,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and by private tuition in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

from 1891,James Watson, 'O'Connor, Kathleen Laetitia (1876–1968)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/oconnor-kathleen-laetitia-7876/text13689, accessed 20 January 2013. including lessons from artist

Florence Fuller Florence Ada Fuller (1867 – 17 July 1946) was a South African-born Australian artist. Originally from Port Elizabeth, Fuller migrated as a child to Melbourne with her family. There she trained with her uncle Robert Hawker Dowling and teacher ...

. She studied painting in

Perth Technical School Central Institute of Technology was a Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institution based in Perth, Western Australia until 2016 when it became a part of North Metropolitan TAFE. It was the equal oldest post-secondary educational institution ...

under James Linton and at the Bushey School, England, under Hubert von Herkomer. She worked for a time in fashionable department stores in Sydney then moved to Paris, France where she lived (apart from the war years which she spent, miserably, in London) from 1907 to 1950. She exhibited regularly at the

Salon d'Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The ...

in Paris from 1911 as well as the Salon Française and Société des Femmes Peintres et Sculpteurs. In Perth she frequently exhibited at the

Claude Hotchin Sir Claude Hotchin OBE (7 March 1898 – 3 June 1977) was a businessman and art dealer, patron and benefactor in Western Australia. He is remembered for his support for Australian painters and Western Australian (especially regional) art gallerie ...

Galleries, including several one-woman shows. She returned to Australia permanently in 1955, living in Perth, but reluctantly. She probably never forgave that city for the callous treatment her father received which led to his suicide. She resented being away from Paris but could no longer afford to live there; her work was no longer fashionable and her private sources of income had largely dried up. She maintained, as far as possible, a Parisian lifestyle and was considered to affect an air of superiority. She could not countenance being buried in Australian soil and had her ashes scattered over the sea. She is represented in all Australian State galleries and, largely as a result of bequests by Sir

, in most Western Australian regional galleries.

References

Sources

McCulloch, Alan ''Encyclopaedia of Australian Art'' Hutchinson of London 1968

External links

images of Kathleen O'Connor's paintings
at the National Gallery of Australia
images of Kathleen O'Connor's paintings
at the Art Gallery of New South Wales {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Kathleen 1876 births 1968 deaths Australian women painters Australian Impressionist painters Australian people of Irish descent People educated at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School 20th-century Australian women artists 20th-century Australian artists New Zealand emigrants to Australia

Biography

References

Sources

Further reading

External links