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Born in Dublin, studying in Paris, painting in Brittany and traveling
widely, exhibiting regularly in Dublin and London, O'Kelly was virtually
forgotten in Ireland until recently, for he emigrated to America. He was
born in Dublin in 1851. In about 1875, he went to Paris and became a student
of Bonnat and Gerome at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. O'Kelly was thus one of
the first Irish artists in Brittany, exhibiting Breton scenes in Dublin
and in London in the late 1870's, and again in the mid-1880's. O'Kelly's
painting varies so much in subject, manner and quality, that it is difficult
to establish a chronology or identify him with a particular style. He painted
examples of 1880's Realism, and plein-air scenes
in the 'square-brush' style, Pre-Raphaelite subjects and light 'impressionistic'
harbor scenes. Then he would revert to heavy works with black shadows (à
la Verlat), or academic Egyptian subjects with precise draftsmanship à
la Gérôme. Some of his paintings are deft and sensitive while
others are awkward or heavy handed.
| Girl in a Meadow |
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O'Kelly's charming outdoor portrait captures the
spirit of the period, the 1880's. The attractive girl is viewed in close-up
and is well integrated into the landscape of grasses and poppies, as in
contemporary plein-air painting, with
also a suggestion of idyllic Pre-Raphaelite scenes. O'Kelly uses a deft
'square-brush' technique, and renders the white dress, the flowers and grasses
with considerable delicacy. The red hair gives the girl an Irish appearance,
but the picture may well have been painted in Brittany. Her eyes are sensitively
painted and she has an endearing expression and air of abstraction. Her
hands are clasped as if in prayer, and she could be kneeling. |
| Awaiting the
Return, Concarneau, 1889 |
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 O'Kelly painted girls in interiors
and sunny harbour scenes. Awaiting the Return,
Concarneau, representing two girls on the bridge to the old walled
town, shows an embracing of impressionism, in its relaxed brushwork, and
bright cheerful colors. |
| Seaweed Gatherers,
Connemara, c. 1884 |
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 In the early 1880s, O'Kelly visited Co. Galway, staying at
Salruck near Killary harbor, one of the most remote parts of the west. Seaweed, Gatherers, Connemara is a remarkable
piece of contemporary realism applied to the west of Ireland (years before
Paul Henry or Jack B. Yeats). O'Kelly observes the traditional headwear
of the figures, their homespun clothing and bare feet, and the donkey with
its wickerwork creeis, with loving detail. The flat sand on which the figures
stand leads towards an enticing blue sea. |
| Game of Draughts,
1889 |
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  O'Kelly traveled to Egypt in the mid-1880's,
painting in and around Cairo. Scenes of bazaars, mosques, streets and deserts
were reflected in his paintings for the next few years. There is assurance
in the variety of pose among the figures and the use of recession from modeled
and richly highlighted figures in the foreground, to the shadowy, transparent
background. Particularly attractive are the colors of the clothes, set off
by rich whites, and the delicate patterning of the carpet. |
| Breton Figures In A Street |
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Corpus Christi Procession,
c.1880 |
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At the Well, Brittany |
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Fete Concarneau |
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Figures On a Sunlit Street,
Cairo |
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Fishing Vessels, Concarneau, Brittany |
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Old Lady Crocheting |
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Picking Roses in a Breton
Garden |
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Respite From the Midday Sun,
Brittany |
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References:
- "The Irish Impressionists, Irish Artists
in France and Belgium 1850-1914". Julian Campbell. National Gallery
of Ireland. 1984
- "Irish Painting". Brian P. Kennedy.
Town House, Dublin. 1993.
- "Onlookers in France, Irish Realist
and Impressionist Painters". Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork.
1993.
