Catherine Amelia O'Brien

St Patrick's stained glass, installed in 1931 in the Anglican Cathedral in Ferns , is typical of O'Brien's style, which shows Christian saints in a folk art style that blends in very well with many of the very simple Irish churches.

Catherine Amelia O'Brien (also called Kathleen or Kitty; * 1881 in Spancilhill near Ennis ; † 1963 in Dublin ) was an Irish glass painter who belonged to the An Túr Gloine studio and took it over in 1944. This studio was internationally successful and highly regarded, especially in the period from 1903 to 1955.

Life

O'Brien grew up in Newmarket-on-Fergus , County Clare . Together with her two sisters, she went to Dublin, where she began studying at the Metropolitan School of Art , where she was one of William Orpen's students . In 1906 Sarah Purser invited her to join the An Túr Gloine group of artists . She accepted the invitation and accompanied Purser on subsequent study trips to England and France.

She worked at An Túr Gloine all her life . When Sarah Purser retired in 1940, O'Brien took over management of the studio and bought it for £ 235 in 1944. From 1954 until her death in 1963, she rented part of the studio to her student Patrick Pollen .

She was continuously active from 1910 until her death. Their stained glass can be found all over Ireland, especially in Anglican churches . But she also received orders from abroad, u. a. 1927 for the Sacred Heart Convent Chapel in Newton , 1931 for the De La Salle Brothers School Chapel in Singapore , 1937 for the Brophy College Chapel in Phoenix , 1953 for the South Kinacop Catholic Church in Nairobi and 1957 for St Helen's in Vero Beach .

Detail of the stained glass dedicated to the memory of O'Brien by Patrick Pollen in 1964

Her student Patrick Pollen dedicated a stained glass in her honor in Christ Church Cathedral . The National Gallery of Ireland holds many of her cardboard boxes and designs from her estate.

literature

James White, Michael Wynne: Irish Stained Glass . Gill and Son, Dublin 1963, p. 44 .
Nicola Gordon Bowe, David Caron, Michael Wynne: Gazetteer of Irish Stained Glass . Irish Academic Press, Dublin 1988, ISBN 0-7165-2413-9 , pp. 96-97 .

Web links

Commons : Catherine O'Brien - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Catherine Amelia O'Brien on clarelibrary.ie
Entry in the Dictionary of Irish Architects

Remarks

^ Bowe et al., P. 78.
↑ Bowe et al., P. 96.
^ On the place of birth: Catherine Amelia O'Brien. Retrieved June 22, 2014 .
↑ Bowe et al., P. 96.
↑ Bowe et al., P. 11: Between 1903 and as late as 1955, a small group of Irish artists established an unqualified reputation for their work all over the world, [..] .
↑ Bowe et al., Pp. 82-86.
^ Bowe et al., P. 97.
^ Roger Stalley: George Edmund Street and the restoration of the cathedral, 1868-78 . In: Kenneth Milne (ed.): Christ Church Cathedral Dublin: A History . Four Courts Press, Dublin 2000, ISBN 1-85182-487-1 , pp. 370 .
↑ O'BRIEN, CATHERINE. Retrieved June 22, 2014 .

personal data
SURNAME	O'Brien, Catherine Amelia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	O'Brien, Katherine; O'Brien, Kitty
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Irish stained glass painter
DATE OF BIRTH	1881
PLACE OF BIRTH	Spancilhill at Ennis
DATE OF DEATH	1963
Place of death	Dublin

[1] Bowe et al., P. 78.

[2] Bowe et al., P. 96.

[3] On the place of birth: Catherine Amelia O'Brien. Retrieved June 22, 2014 .

[4] Bowe et al., P. 96.

[5] Bowe et al., P. 11: Between 1903 and as late as 1955, a small group of Irish artists established an unqualified reputation for their work all over the world, [..] .

[6] Bowe et al., Pp. 82-86.

[7] Bowe et al., P. 97.

[8] Roger Stalley: George Edmund Street and the restoration of the cathedral, 1868-78 . In: Kenneth Milne (ed.): Christ Church Cathedral Dublin: A History . Four Courts Press, Dublin 2000, ISBN 1-85182-487-1 , pp. 370 .

[9] O'BRIEN, CATHERINE. Retrieved June 22, 2014 .