John O'Connor (12 August 1830 – 23 May 1889) was an Irish

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Personal life

Born in 1830 in

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

, the third son of Francis O’Connor and his wife, Rose Cunningham of Bath, he was left an orphan at the age of twelve. His uncle, a

lessee A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

of the

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

theaters, provided him with work as a call-boy and an assistant in scene-painting at the Belfast theater. He married Ann Butler Fairburn on 30 December 1851 at St John the Evangelist in Upper Holloway, and they had two boys: Francis (born 1853) and John Peter (born 1854). Unfortunately Ann died on 17 July 1860 at their home 6 Waverly Place, Marylebone. John then married Ann's half-sister Ellen Fairburn on 9 January 1862 at Islington Parish Church, and they had two sons: Henry (born 1862) and Joseph William (born 1864). His grandson Terence George, by his son John Peter, married Angela Mary O'Connor (née Ashford) – the sister of

Daisy Ashford Margaret Mary Julia Devlin (née Ashford; 3 April 1881 – 15 January 1972), known as Daisy Ashford, was an English writer who is most famous for writing '' The Young Visiters'', a novella concerning the upper class society of late 19th century ...

– the young author of the famous book '' The Young Visiters''. 1888 saw John O'Connor's health start to fail through heart disease, and he finally died at Heathcroft, Yately, Hampshire on 23 May 1889. He was survived by his wife Ellen who herself died in 1931 at Edmonton, Middlesex.

Career

Having become a proficient painter, O'Connor found employment in 1848 at

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

, and from 1863 was principal Scene Painter at the Haymarket Theatre. In 1879 he was invited by Richard D'Oyly Carte to provide the London settings for a new Gilbert and Sullivan opera, ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 3 ...

'' (1880). (Although ''The Pirates of Penzance'' premiered in New York, there is no evidence that his scenery was taken for use in the United States.) The settings were so well admired that O'Connor was asked to be scenic designer for the next Gilbert & Sullivan production of ''

Patience or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect ...

''. He began to exhibit at the

Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

in 1854, and at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

from 1857 until 1888. During this time he became popular with the royal family, and produced drawings of many important court ceremonials: 1871 Drawing of Marriage of Princess Louise; 1872 Drawing of the Thanksgiving Service in St Paul's; 1874 Drawing of the arrival of Duke/Duchess of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace; 1887 Drawing of the Jubilee Service, Westminster Abbey. He also exhibited at various exhibitions and galleries, amongst them: 1849 – Painted "Diorama of the Queen's Visit" – exhibited at the Chinese Gallery, London; 1854 – Exhibited Landscapes at the Society of British Artists; the

Royal Watercolour Society The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wa ...

and 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 ...

from 1875 until his death.http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artists_detail.asp?gid=408&aid=12721. O'Connor at Artnet. Worldwide Corporation, New York, NY. Retrieved 16 December 2007.

References

External links

O'Connor at Artnet

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, John 1830 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Irish painters Irish male painters People from County Londonderry 19th-century Irish male artists