October Art Auction Lot 38 - Rocks & Seagulls by Helen O'Hara
Helen Sophia O’Hara (1846-1920) was an Irish watercolour artist. She was born in The Castle, Portstewart in 1846. She was the daughter of the Reverend James D. O'Hara. Her brother, H.S. O'Hara was the Bishop of Cashel and Emly, and Lismore, County Waterford. She exhibited several seascapes and two flower pieces at the Royal Hibernian Academy. From 1892, she showed with the Water Colour Society of Ireland until 1913, exhibiting over 100 works in total. Despite frequently exhibiting and producing a high quality of work, little is known of Helen O’Hara’s life.
O’Hara was self-taught but surrounded herself with contemporary artists. She lived with fellow artist Fanny Currey at the Mall, Lismore from 1898 until 1919. She illustrated the children’s book Prince Ritto, written Currey and the pair’s artistic careers often overlapped. Currey was a founding member of the Water Colour Society of Ireland, which owed its origin to a local drawing society, set up in Waterford by a group of six women artists in 1870.
The medium of watercolour provided flexibility for the artist to paint en plein air with little materials, therefore it was a significant medium used for landscape studies throughout the 19th century. In the 19th century, a proficiency in the arts was typically reserved for upper class women and required not only financial support, but often familial connections to artists. Before 1893, women were not admitted to the schools of the Royal Hibernian Academy, instead having to rely on private training through alternative routes such as, an artist family member, a governess, private drawing schools, or travelling abroad. It is therefore quite unusual for O'Hara to be self-taught during this period.
O’Hara exhibited at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours and the Society of Women Artists between 1881 and 1908. In 1896, she was elected Vice President of the Belfast Society of Art, and in 1904 was elected an honorary member along with Mildred Butler and John Lavery. O’Hara’s work was often compared to her contemporaries Rose Barton and Mildred Anne Butler, although her work tended more towards seascapes around Portstewart, compared to garden and wildlife studies. She died in 1920 in County Waterford.
Helen Sophia O’Hara (1846-1920) was an Irish watercolour artist. She was born in The Castle, Portstewart in 1846. She was the daughter of the Reverend James D. O'Hara. Her brother, H.S. O'Hara was the Bishop of Cashel and Emly, and Lismore, County Waterford. She exhibited several seascapes and two flower pieces at the Royal Hibernian Academy. From 1892, she showed with the Water Colour Society of Ireland until 1913, exhibiting over 100 works in total. Despite frequently exhibiting and producing a high quality of work, little is known of Helen O’Hara’s life.
O’Hara was self-taught but surrounded herself with contemporary artists. She lived with fellow artist Fanny Currey at the Mall, Lismore from 1898 until 1919. She illustrated the children’s book Prince Ritto, written Currey and the pair’s artistic careers often overlapped. Currey was a founding member of the Water Colour Society of Ireland, which owed its origin to a local drawing society, set up in Waterford by a group of six women artists in 1870.
The medium of watercolour provided flexibility for the artist to paint en plein air with little materials, therefore it was a significant medium used for landscape studies throughout the 19th century. In the 19th century, a proficiency in the arts was typically reserved for upper class women and required not only financial support, but often familial connections to artists. Before 1893, women were not admitted to the schools of the Royal Hibernian Academy, instead having to rely on private training through alternative routes such as, an artist family member, a governess, private drawing schools, or travelling abroad. It is therefore quite unusual for O'Hara to be self-taught during this period.
O’Hara exhibited at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours and the Society of Women Artists between 1881 and 1908. In 1896, she was elected Vice President of the Belfast Society of Art, and in 1904 was elected an honorary member along with Mildred Butler and John Lavery. O’Hara’s work was often compared to her contemporaries Rose Barton and Mildred Anne Butler, although her work tended more towards seascapes around Portstewart, compared to garden and wildlife studies. She died in 1920 in County Waterford.
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