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Orpens at Farmleigh is the title of exhibitions by Sir William Orpen and Goddard Orpen at the OPW Farmleigh Gallery in Dublin until August 25. A Family Legacy displays a range of less well known paintings and illustrated letters by Sir William Orpen and members of his family. This runs side by side with an exhibition of photographs by Goddard Orpen (1852-1932) from a recently discovered collection of glass plate negatives documenting life in the home and an the farm.
Reaction to the Daniel O’Neill exhibition at the Farmleigh Gallery in Dublin has been highly positive. The first retrospective in 70 years by this highly regarded Belfast born artist, curated by art historian Karen Reihill who has written the first monograph dedicated to the artist, was to have coincided in 2020 with the centenary of his birth. It has gone ahead now following two years of postponements due to Covid. Most of the works in the show are from private collections and there are contributions too from IMMA, the University of Limerick and the Ulster Museum. O’Neill is an enduring and popular Irish artist (he died in 1974 aged 54) whose Girl with a Flower made a hammer price of €38,000 at the James Adam sale of Important Irish Art in Dublin last week. Daniel O’Neill: Romanticism and Friendships, presented by the OPW at Farmleigh until June 6 features paintings by his friends and fellow artists Gerard Dillon, Colin Middleton and George Campbell and others.
The centenary of the birth of artist Dan O’Neill will be marked at the Farmleigh Gallery in Dublin this summer. This will be the first retrospective of Daniel O’Neill’s work since 1952 and includes many works from private collections unseen at exhibition for over 50 years. It will feature works by his friends and fellow painters Gerard Dillon, Colin Middleton, George Campbell, Nano Reid and others. Born in Belfast, O’Neill had little orthodox training. He started painting with watercolours at the age of 15 and studied Italian renaissance painters at Belfast Reference Library. In 1945 he was taken up by the Dublin dealer, Victor Waddington and several one man shows followed. He visited France and moved to London in 1958. From there his paintings were sent to the Waddington Gallery in Montreal and he showed at the Dawson Gallery in Dublin. In 1970 he exhibited in Belfast and his last two exhibitions were at the Dawson in 1971. He died in March 1974 aged 54. The show will run from May 10 to July 24.
