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Aloysius C. O’Kelly (1853-1936)
CASHEL, 1923
oil on canvas
signed and titled lower right
18 by 24in. (45.72 by 60.96cm)
O’Kelly emigrated to New York in 1895, where he had impressive connections and his work was highly
regarded.Yet his late work betrays a nostalgic relationship with his political and artistic past. He returned
to Ireland in 1926, at the age of 73, still pressing his case for the establishment of a national school of
painting. During this time, he wrote regularly to his nephew, James Herbert, back in New York. In this
correspondence, he describes how, in Ireland, he first established himself in Cashel, which he described as
‘a very ancient place with much interest but the sleepiest, quietest place you can imagine’. Here he lived a
life of ‘simplicity itself’. He went on to say: ‘my two subjects are the ancient ecclesiastical buildings on the
Rock of Cashel (of which he executed seven paintings), and Holycross Abbey. In an effort to secure
commissions, O’Kelly called on the Archbishop of Cashel.When the Archbishop - ‘a very well fed looking
man with little inclination for art’- declined to purchase, O’Kelly pronounced ‘a very low opinion of His
Grace.’ The Dean of Cashel, on the other hand, responded positively, commissioning a Rock of Cashel -
possibly this painting.This sojourn culminated in an exhibition in Dublin, in Combridge’s, Grafton Street,
before he left Ireland for his final visit to Brittany, before returning to America.
Professor Niamh O’Sullivan
€
4,000-
€
6,000 (£3,200-£4,800 approx)