O'Connor makes a big impression

By Liz Baird – 10 September 2010

Dickon Hall Ltd, Crescent Arts Centre,, 2-4 University Road, Belfast, Until October 7,|Tues-Fri 10am-5pm (closed 1-2pm)|Sat 10am-2pm

Born in Milltown, Co Roscommon in 1860, Roderic O’Conor entered the Dublin School of Art at 19 and is arguably the most internationally important of all the Irish artists.

He spent a great deal of his adult life working in France where at first he was influenced by impressionists like Pissarro and Sisley. Later, however, he moved to the Breton village of Pont-Aven where he found his real niche in the company of Paul Gauguin and his post-impressionist friends.

Rediscoveries in the art world are rare, so it is particularly exciting that this exhibition reveals a previously unknown group of watercolours and drawings by this post-impressionist master. The show also contains a small number of works on loan from private collections.

Few works on paper by O’Conor survive; Jonathan Bennington, in his 1992 catalogue of the artist’s work, lists only 91 drawings and 20 watercolours, so these 15 are a significant addition to his recorded work. For over 50 years they had remained in the collection of O’Conor’s doctor and only came to light recently. This is the first opportunity for the public to view them and is quite a triumph for Dickon Hall Ltd.

For further information on the show see www.dickonhall.co.uk.