Mick O'Dea (born 1958) is an Irish artist best known as a painter of portraits and historical subjects. The second-youngest of five children, O'Dea grew up in Ennis, County Clare, the son of Mick and Margaret O'Dea. He displayed talent for portraiture at a young age, recalling, "I drew incessantly." From 1976 to 1981, O'Dea studied at the

National College of Art and Design The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of th ...

in Dublin and the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medical ...

. He continued his studies in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and at the

Winchester School of Art Winchester School of Art is the art school of the University of Southampton, situated 10 miles (14 km) north of Southampton in the city of Winchester near the south coast of England. History The Winchester School of Art was founded in 187 ...

in England, where he was awarded an M.A. in European Fine Art in 1997. O'Dea has received numerous awards and has exhibited internationally. Among the public collections in which his works are included are:

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 ...

, the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encour ...

, the

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 ...

, the Bank of Ireland,

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance w ...

, The National Self-Portrait Collection, the National Drawing Collection, and the Limerick City Gallery of Art. He has taught at the National College of Art and Design,

Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology ( ga, Institiúid Ealaíona, Dearadh agus Teicneolaíochta Dhún Laoghaire), more commonly known as IADT Dún Laoghaire or simply IADT is an institute of technology with a focus on art and ...

, the National Gallery,

Portlaoise Prison Portlaoise Prison ( ga, Príosún Phort Laoise) is a maximum security prison in Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland. Until 1929 it was called the Maryborough Gaol. It should not be confused with the Midlands Prison, which is a newer, medium secur ...

, the Lyme Academy College of Fine Art, and the

, of which he is a member. From 2008 to 2011, he was the first school principal of the RHA. In 2014, he was elected president of the

. He is a member of

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...

. In 2009, O'Dea was commissioned by the National Gallery of Ireland to paint a portrait of playwright

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

. Recent historical themes in his art have included paintings depicting the

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

and the Irish War of Independence.Trouble, ''The Irish Times'', April 27, 2012
/ref>

References

Resources

* ttp://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsfilmtv/visualarts/making-history-202105.html Making history, ''Irish examiner'', July 22, 2012
biography, RHA

* ttp://www.ucc.ie/en/pharmacy/NewsArchive/fullstory-106670-en.html Painting donated to University College Cork.]
Trouble, ''The Irish Times'', April 27, 2012

Ministry of Culture unveils portrait of Brian Friel at National Gallery, National Gallery of Ireland

Portrait of Brian Friel unveiled, ''Irishowen News'', 22 July, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:ODea, Mick 20th-century Irish painters 21st-century Irish painters Irish male painters Aosdána members 1958 births Living people 20th-century Irish male artists