Geraldine O'Brien (27 February 1922 – 3 July 2014) was an Irish botanical illustrator.

Early life

She was born Geraldine Mary O'Brien on 27 February 1922, to parents Donough Richard O'Brien and distinguished artist Cicely Maud Carus-Wilson. She was cousin to both the artist

Dermod O'Brien William Dermod O'Brien PRHA DL Hon RA (10 June 1865 – 3 October 1945), commonly known as Dermod O'Brien, was an Irish painter, chiefly of landscapes and portraits. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the ...

PRHA,

Brigid Ganly Brigid Ganly Royal Hibernian Academy, HRHA (29 January 1909 – 25 March 2002), was an Irish painter and sculptor Early life and education Brigid Ganly was born Rosaleen Brigid O'Brien on the 29 January 1909 in Dublin to Dermod O'Brien and his ...

HRHA and President of the Watercolour Society Kitty Wilmer O'Brien RHA.

Education and work

O'Brien was educated in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

where she won prizes in the international competitions of London's

Royal Drawing Society The Royal Drawing Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded in 1888 in London, with the aim of teaching drawing for educational reasons. The methods of instruction were based on the idea that very young children attempt to draw before they ...

. At 17 she spent a year in West Cornwall with Stanhope Alexander Forbes and at 18 she took part in her first exhibition at the

Royal Hibernian Academy The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the Royal Irish Academy, the academy retained the word "Royal" after mo ...

. It became difficult to study internationally with the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and O'Brien took the opportunity to use her skills for the war effort and turned to mechanical drawing. However, it was as a botanical illustrator she was best known. Her studio in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

was always called ''the piggery'' and was where she brought in the plants from her garden to arrange for her work. She continued to exhibit on a regular basis both with the RHA and private exhibitions around Ireland. On occasion she would use her art to raise funds for charities like Friends of St Luke's Hospital in Rathgar.

Personal life

O'Brien married David Coote Hely Hutchinson on 25 September 1948 with whom she had one daughter. They lived in 2003 at

Parteen Parteen () is a village in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated in the townland of the same name that is part of the civil parish of St Patrick's. It is also part of the ecclesiastical parish of Parteen-Meelick-Coonagh in the Roman Catholic ...

, a village close to

City. She died in St. Martha's Nursing Home,

Charleville, County Cork Charleville ( or ''An Ráth'') is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It lies in the Golden Vale, on a tributary of the River Maigue, near the border with County Limerick. Charleville is on the N20 road and is the second-largest town between Limeri ...

on 3 July 2014.

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Geraldine 1922 births 2014 deaths Irish women artists