Hughie O'Donoghue (born 1953) is a British painter.

Biography

Hughie O'Donoghue was born in 1953 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England. His father, Daniel O'Donoghue, was also born in Manchester, to Irish parents, and was a railway company clerk in the city. Daniel O'Donoghue encouraged his son to study history and literature and spend time in

Manchester City Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre, England. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupi ...

. This was to prove a key element in the formation of O'Donoghue's desire to make art. Equally significant was O'Donoghue's mother, who had been born in Ireland, in the

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

. O'Donoghue spent much of his childhood here, learning traditional stories and experiencing the landscape around his mother's family home. O'Donoghue attended St Augustine's Grammar School followed by Trinity and All Saints College. He later gained an MA in Fine Art from

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1982 and was appointed to be artist-in-residence at the

Drax power station Drax power station is a large Biomass (energy), biomass power station in Drax, North Yorkshire, Drax, North Yorkshire, England. It has a 2.6 GW capacity for biomass and had a 1.29 GW capacity for coal that was retired in 2021. Its name comes f ...

near

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

in 1983. This was followed in 1984 by a two-year residency at the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

in London, and by another art residency in 2000 at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

. His first solo exhibition was in 1984 at AIR Gallery, London. He then showed in 1987 at the Galleria Carini and Donatini,

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Italy, followed by the solo show ''Fires'' at the Fabian Carlsson Gallery, London in 1989. In 1997 he held a solo show at the Haus der Kunst, Munich. In 1998 he staged an exhibition of his paintings and drawings of the human body, made between 1984 and 1998, at the

Irish Museum of Modern Art The Irish Museum of Modern Art (), also known as IMMA, is Ireland's leading national institution for the collection and presentation of modern and contemporary art. It is located in Kilmainham, Dublin. History Irish art collector Gordon Lam ...

, Dublin and the

Whitworth Art Gallery The Whitworth is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing over 60,000 items in its collection. The gallery is located in Whitworth Park and is part of the University of Manchester. In 2015, the Whitworth reopened after it was transfor ...

, Manchester. In 1999 he had further solo shows in Dublin and Munich. In 2000 he took part in the group show ''Geschichte und Erinnerung in der Kunst der Gegenwart'' (History and Memory in Contemporary Art) at the

Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt The Schirn Kunsthalle is a Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Germany, located in the old city between the Römer and the Frankfurt Cathedral; it is part of Frankfurt's Museumsufer (Museum Riverbank). The Schirn exhibits both modern and contemporary ar ...

, and then had further solo shows at the Purdy Hicks Gallery, London, in 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2003 O'Donoghue exhibited at the

Imperial War Museum North Imperial War Museum North (sometimes referred to as IWM North) is a museum in the Trafford, Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. One of five branches of the Imperial War Museum, it explores the impact of modern confl ...

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

a series of works called ''Painting Caserta Red'' charting his father's experiences in 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 ...

. Also in 2003 he held a solo show at the Gas Hall Gallery, Birmingham, then at the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland, in 2004, the Fenton Gallery, Cork, in 2005, the City and Áras Éanna Arts Centre, Inis Oírr, Ireland, and Fairgreen Gallery, Galway, Ireland, in 2006 and Galerie Michael Janssen, Berlin, in 2007. In 2008 his series of paintings ''Lost Histories; Imagined Realities,'' was shown at the

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag The Kunstmuseum Den Haag is an art museum in The Hague in the Netherlands, founded in 1866 as the Museum voor Moderne Kunst. Later, until 1998, it was known as Haags Gemeentemuseum, and until the end of September 2019 as Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. I ...

in The Hague, Netherlands, and ''The Geometry of Paths,'' at the James Hyman Gallery, London. Another series, called ''The Journey'' was shown at

Leeds Art Gallery Leeds Art Gallery in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a gallery, part of the Leeds Museums & Galleries group, whose collection of 20th-century British Art was designated by the British government in 1997 as a collection "of national importance ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

in 2009, and ''Spirit of the Figure,'' was shown at the Sidney Cooper Gallery,

Canterbury, Kent Canterbury (, ) is a city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climate. Canterbury is a popular tourist destination, wit ...

also in 2009. In 2010 he showed at the Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, and in 2011 at the Galway Arts Festival, Galway Ireland, and at Trinity Hall,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. In 2005 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

. He has work in public collections including: Arts Council of England, the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

, Oxford, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull,

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities University museum, museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard ...

, Cambridge, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands, the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, the Imperial War Museum, London, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, the

, London, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, and the

Yale Center for British Art The Yale Center for British Art at Yale University in central New Haven, Connecticut, houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. The collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, rare ...

, New Haven, USA, amongst others. In 2013, he designed a stained glass window for

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

to mark the 60th anniversary of the coronation of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. Hughie O'Donoghue is married to Clare, and is represented by Marlborough Fine Art, London.

Style and influences

Hughie O'Donoghue's paintings are highly abstracted figure paintings, an approach that is said to demonstrate the respect he has in his own practice for the history of art. His method is derived from a knowledge and understanding of the methods of both abstract and figurative painters of the past which he attempts to synthesise in his own work. This respect for the historic methods of making art has led to O'Donoghue being praised not only for his painting skills but also his emphasis on the importance of draughtsmanship in the making of a painting. O'Donoghue's application of paint can be thick and heavy, reminiscent of American

Abstract Expressionism Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...

, as in the 'Geometry of Paths' series of paintings. This series was made partly in homage to O'Donoghue's father's service in the RAF in the

, and can be seen as a development from an earlier series along similar lines made for the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

in 2003 called 'Painting Caserta Red'. The name ''The Geometry of Paths'' came from the title an old manual for wartime fighter pilots O'Donoghue found in a secondhand bookshop. In this series, O'Donoghue also demonstrated a characteristic trait in his work of juxtaposing seemingly unrelated ideas, in this case combining his father's wartime experience and the RAF training manual on one side with the destruction during the Second World War of a painting by

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

called ''The Painter on the Road to Tarascon''. O'Donoghue will also incorporate photographs into the painting, often painting over these again, so the paintings appear as a series of layered images. As this indicates, O'Donoghue uses specific narratives as motivations to make his work, and this allows him to explore 'ideas of place and identity in relation to historical and personal meaning'. However O'Donoghue has stated himself that he does not believe 'that artists wholly control the meaning of their work'. This results in a situation where art becomes a conveyor of incomplete and subjective truths about events such as the Second World War. However, in O'Donoghue's own view, the academic study of history is like this anyway. This means O'Donoghue's paintings are not simply reminiscent of historic

History painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...

in terms of their scale and subject matter, but in the way O'Donoghue conceives of them as a kind of historical exegesis.Marianne O'Kane, 'Epic Proportions', in ''Irish Arts Review'', vol. 20, no. 2, 1991

References

External links

*
Marlborough Art Gallery, artists' page

ARCHEUS / POST-MODERN, inventory of Hughie O'Donoghue's early works

* ttp://www.suehubbard.com/art_critic/odonoghue_hyman.shtml#odonoghue_hyman Hughie O'Donoghue The Geometry of Paths
Hughie O'Donoghue Painting Caserta Red
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonoghue, Hughie 1953 births 20th-century British painters British male painters 21st-century British painters 20th-century Irish painters 21st-century Irish painters 21st-century Irish male artists Irish male painters British modern painters Living people Royal Academicians Alumni of Leeds Trinity University Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London 20th-century Irish male artists Artists from Manchester British contemporary artists

Biography

Style and influences

References

Further reading

External links