John O'Keeffe (Irish painter)

For the Irish playwright, see John O'Keeffe (Irish writer).

John O'Keeffe (c.1797 – 1838) was an Irish portrait and figure painter.

Born in Fermoy, County Cork of humble parentage, O'Keeffe began painting at an early age and was apprenticed to a coach painter. He began painting scenes for local theatres, working his way up to religious pictures for local Roman Catholic churches. In 1831 he sent a Portrait of a Lady and Crucifixion to the Royal Hibernian Academy. He left Cork in 1834 for Dublin and continued to exhibit portrait and subject paintings. A painting from this period, A Sibyl, 1835, now stands in the Museum of Cork (1913). He exhibited a painting of the British army Field Marshal Edward Blakeney at the RHA in 1837. Just as his career was on the rise he died while on a visit to Limerick in April, 1838.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Strickland, Henry G. A Dictionary of Irish Artists. Maunsel & Company, Limited, Dublin and London. 1913. Pg. 192-93. Retrieved Mar. 25, 2008.