Roderic O’Conor (1860 – 1940)

Although he was born in Ireland, and attended art school in Dublin, Roderic O’Conor’s work only became more widely known here in the late 1950s. Much of O’Conor’s career was spent in Belgium and France: after attending the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art and the Royal Hibernian Academy Schools, he travelled first to the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Antwerp, and later attended the atelier of Charles Carolus-Duran in Paris. Experimenting with the techniques of impressionism, neo-impressionism, and pointillisme, O’Conor spent time at the artists’ colonies in Grez-sur-Loing and Pont-Aven. In the latter of these, the artist came into contact with the circle of Paul Gauguin (1848 – 1903). The two artists first met in 1894, and became friends. O’Conor exhibited with Gaugin, Pierre Bonnard, Paul Sérusier and the other leading artists at the ‘Exposition des Peintres Impressionistes et Symbolistes’ in the 1890s.

From 1903, O’Conor’s subject matter moved away from the depiction of Breton life to nudes, female figures, portraits and still-lives. He became immersed in cultural life in Paris, particularly with an exclusive set of British expatriates that included Clive Bell, Arnold Bennett and Somerset Maugham. In 1933, O’Conor married his partner Henrietta (Renée) Honta, who had often modelled for the artist. The couple lived in France and Spain, and the artist died at their home in Cagnes-sur-Mer in 1940. In 2009, the National Gallery of Ireland acquired an archive of letters and documents relating to O’Conor and Honta, including letters between the couple. Additional items in the collection include letters from Roger Fry and Somerset Maugham, as well as receipts and invoices relating to O’Conor’s own art collection.

O'Conor is the subject of our recent exhibition Roderic O'Conor and the Moderns. Between Paris and Pont-Aven. Find out more here.