Charles Brady HRHA

Charles Brady (1926-1997) was an American artist known for his still life paintings of everyday objects using subtle compositions and muted colours. Born in Manhattan, he spent time in the US Navy during WWII before entering the Art Students League of New York to pursue a career in painting. He had his first solo show in the Urban Gallery, New York in 1955, but his chaotic lifestyle and lack of money saw him travel to Ireland, where he would eventually settle. Though he did paint Irish landscapes, it was his work that focused on mundane items such as envelopes and tickets which brought him recognition. He has been praised for his ability in bringing interest to the banal with his ‘almost mystical style.’
Brady often had paintings shown at the Taylor Galleries and the Davis Gallery in Dublin, exhibiting also at Grant Fine Arts in Belfast, the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, Oireachtas and the Royal Hibernian Academy, among others. He was the recipient of several prestigious awards such as the Oireachtas Douglas Hyde Gold Medal (1975) and the Keating/McLoughlin Medal from the RHA (1996). The artist was elected an honorary member of the RHA in 1994.