Although a somewhat forgotten painter today Richard O’Neill (1923-2009) is an artist whose work deserves to be re-assessed and perhaps looked at in a new light.

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One of nine children, Richard was born in Waterford in 1923. The family lived in a gate lodge of Rockshire House, in Ferrybank. The property was owned by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Edward Charles Frederick Garraway (1865-1932) and his family.  The painter Patric Stevenson (1909-1983), who had studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, visited the Garraway’s during the late 1930s, and by chance saw the young Richard’s sketches. He was very impressed by Richard's artistic skills and encouraged him. Patric also spoke to Richard's parents about their son’s talents, urging them to allow him to pursue these at Art School. 1

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As a result of this encouragement, Dick, as he was known by his friends and family, enrolled in the Waterford School of Art where he studied under Robert Burke (1909-1991). In 1941 after completing his education he was awarded a scholarship to study at the National College of Art, graduating in 1946. At the NCA he studied under Maurice MacGonigal (1900-1979) and Sean Keating (1889-1977), although he veered away from their academic style, he retained both artist’s vigour, Keating’s figurative symbolism and MacGonigal’s bold use of colour.

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In Dublin, O’Neill embraced the bohemian atmosphere of the college, along with the literary and artistic scene of the so called “Baggotonia”, where he would meet many fellow fledgling artists and writers. His older brother was in the Army and would reportedly berate Dick for his long hair while at art school. 2

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As a painter O’Neill’s early output from the late 1940’s and early 1950’s are largely figurative, and display a semi-naive, neo-romantic quality. There are hints of Gerard Dillon (1916-1971) or Thurloe Conolly’s (1918–2016) influence, albeit with a restless energy and touch of the Surreal about them. Looking for an outlet to exhibit his pictures, Richard began to show with the Irish Exhibition of Living Art (IELA) in the early 1950s. He first exhibited with IELA in 1952 and would continue exhibit with the group until 1966. He also submitted pictures to the Oireachtas Art Exhibitions from time to time.

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However, these yearly group exhibitions where not enough for an artist to live on alone and to supplement his income O’Neill looked for a teaching post. He soon found a job at Clogher Road Technical College in Crumlin, where Dick met his future wife Christine, who taught Irish at the school. O’Neill was married in 1956 and bought a Victorian house in Rathmines, which had a reasonably large garden. He first set up a studio in the top floor of the house and later built a dedicated studio in the back garden.

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In July of 1956 Dick held his first solo exhibition at the Dublin Painter’s Gallery, No. 7 St. Stephen’s Green. The show was well received and received good press and reviews. O’Neill had twenty-two oils in the exhibition, of these, the Clown, Blind Men, Remorse and Prayer (all c.1950) were singled out in several of the newspaper reviews as being of particular merit. For instance, the critic from the Independent noted “He reveals himself as a commentator, often ironic and sardonic, sometimes whimsical but always sympathetic, on the members and mainly the extras of our life’s little comedy”. 3

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Works from this period such as Grief (c.1950) have an element of social realism in the subject and an introspective nature, while others are sarcastic and have a more playful naïve aspect. For instance, Day Dreamer (c.1948) portrays a young man, possibly a self-portrait, laying amongst a group of trees gazing up into the sky whilst in the background a procession of figures seems to trail endlessly into a church.

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In the early 1960’s O’Neill took up a new position at the School of Retail Distribution in Marlboro Street, which would later become part of Dublin Institute of Technology or Technological University Dublin as it is known today. He lectured in graphic design, window display and interior design. It suited O’Neill well as the schedule meant he could continue to paint while not teaching. By this time, he had moved away from his earlier neo-romantic style and was working on a more abstract approach to painting. Many of the themes are the same, such as the solitary figure, but he is making more structured works, with emphasis on expressionist form, use of a broader colour palette and impasto.

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These new pictures have more in common with artists such as Patrick Collins (1911-1994) and Sean McSweeney (1935-2018), whom Richard would have been familiar with from his exhibitions at the IELA. Other influences on O’Neill’s painting include Picasso, Van Gogh and Paul Klee, while he also drew inspiration from old masters such as Giotto and would always visit as many museums, galleries and churches to observe works whenever he had the chance.

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In February 1964 O’Neill held his second solo exhibition, this time with the Dawson Gallery. The show featured thirty of the painter’s new abstract expressionist work. While the catalogue introduction was written by Terence deVere White, who noted “In the present exhibition he has departed from his former manner and expressed himself in abstractions”. 4 These pictures have a more structured nature than Richards earlier works using bold blues and reds. He applies the paint with increased confidence and texture, with the focus of the composition having an almost sculptural element. Examples of this style can be seen in painting such as Head I (c.1960) or The Window (c.1960). Unfortunately, the exhibition was not as much of a commercial success as Dick had hoped and this time he received a rather more mixed reaction from the newspaper critics; however, several contributors in the letters to the editor columns did come to his defence. 5

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Dick was selected to exhibit in the commemorative exhibition Cuimhneachan 1916 in 1966, which was held in the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art. The focus of the show was to celebrate the Easter Rising through contemporary art, some of the other exhibitors included Edward Delaney (1930-2009), Michael Farrell (1940-2000) and Sean McSweeney to name but a few. O’Neill’s contribution was May 1916 (1966), a large work depicting Tom Clarke, blindfolded, before a stone wall awaiting his execution. This powerful picture places the soon to be shot Clarke against a green background. The figure is right in front of the viewer, almost as if we are the firing squad, while the colours and tone are both vibrant and sombre at the same time. The work is a turning point for O’Neill as it is indicative of his more figurative psychological charged style of his later years.

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However, in the following years Dick would take a step back from exhibiting but continued to paint. This hiatus allowed Dick to focus on teaching, family life and on other interests. In 1968 Richard was awarded a scholarship to attend a course in design in Vevey, Switzerland. The class was taught through French, which he did not have, but he still managed to complete the course, even being awarded first place, due to his natural aptitude for turning his hand to any task. Over the course of the 70’s and 80’s he was quite involved in the Dublin arts administrative scene, as a member of the board of NCAD and the committee of The Municipal Gallery of Modern Art (now the Hugh Lane Gallery). Dick was also very friendly with many of his fellow artists, including Partick Hickey (1927-1998), Helen Moloney (1926-2011), John Kelly (1932–2006) and Patrick Pye (1929-2018).

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It was perhaps due to his friendship with Pye that O’Neill would exhibit in the first Figurative Image Exhibition in 1986. Patrick Pye was the Chairman of the exhibition, which was held in the Bank of Ireland Exhibition Hall on Lower Baggot Street. 6 The show included a mix of painting and sculpture by the likes of Brian Bourke (b.1936), John Shinnors (b.1950), Dorothy Cross (b.1956) and John Behan (b.1938). In 1991 he exhibited with the Figurative Image in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham (now IMMA) where O’Neill exhibited six large works. Included were Distraction (1986) and Uncertainty (1986), both of which are typical titles for his later works, that are on a large scale, yet which have a very intimate, personal and metaphysical subject matter.

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When he retired from teaching; O’Neill began working on his final series of pictures in the 2000’s and would go on painting into his eighties. These reflective and introspective works are comprised of a figurative element juxtaposed by areas of vast stillness, the background merging to a high horizon line. The figures who often appear preoccupied or reflective, give his work a sense of anticipation and were often studies of people he knew or characters he had observed. We can see the influence of Francis Bacon, Ben Shahn and perhaps Edward Hopper in these works. Some paintings could be read as a little melancholic, others tranquil or therapeutic. The works tend to make use of recuring motifs, such as the chair, windows or the human head, which Dick found himself coming back to throughouthis career. Indeed, the symbol of a vacant chair is one that he would return to again and again. The chair could evoke sorrow, grief or nostalgia. On the other hand, it may symbolise the hope of return or a familiar restful object of everyday life.

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As an individual he was said to be self-reliant, curious, and somewhat quiet in nature. He was not one to pander to the politics or critics of the art scene. He was reluctant to speak about his work and the meaning within them, however it is obvious that they had great personal expression for him. Today, his pictures can be found in the collections of The Crawford Art Gallery, Trinity College Dublin, The Waterford Municipal Gallery, The Arts Council of Ireland, The State Art Collection and The Doyle Collection Hotel Group.

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Acknowledgements: My thanks to Cora O’Neill and the O’Neill family for their time and access to the family archive.

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1. O, Neill, C. (2024) ‘Memoires of My Father’. Interviewed by A. Pearson, Dublin, 1 st July

2. O, Neill, C. (2024) ‘Memoires of My Father’. Interviewed by A. Pearson, Dublin, 1 st July

3. P.H.G, Smile and tear in young artists work, Irish Independent, 30 th Jule, 1958

4. Terence deVere White, Richard O’Neill, The Dawson Gallery, February 1964, The Dolmen Press, Dublin.

5. Muris Mac Conghail, Art for all, Newspaper clipping, untraced, O’Neill family archive, circa February 1964

6. Figurative Image ’86 exhibition of paintings and sculpture, Bank of Ireland Ltd, 1986, Park Printing Co.

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Sources:

O, Neill, C. (2024) ‘Memoires of My Father’. Interviewed by Adam Pearson, Dublin, 1 st July.

Terence deVere White, Richard O’Neill, The Dawson Gallery, February 1964, The Dolmen Press, Dublin.

Figurative Image ’86 exhibition of paintings and sculpture, Bank of Ireland Ltd, 1986, Park Printing Co.

P.H.G, Smile and tear in young artists work, Irish Independent, 30 th Jule, 1958

O’Neill Family Archive

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