John O'Keeffe sometimes O'Keefe (c. 1797 – April 1838) was an Irish portrait and figure painter.
Life
Born in Fermoy, County Cork of humble parentage, O'Keeffe began painting at an early age and was apprenticed to a coach painter. He began painting scenes for local theatres, working his way up to religious pictures for local Roman Catholic churches. In 1831 he sent a Portrait of a Lady and Crucifixion to the Royal Hibernian Academy.
He left Cork in 1834 for Dublin and continued to exhibit portrait and subject paintings. A painting from this period, A Sibyl (1835) was, as of 1913, held in the Museum of Cork. He exhibited a painting of the British army Field Marshal Edward Blakeney at the RHA in 1837. Just as his career was on the rise he died while on a visit to Limerick in April 1838. He left a widow and children.
The Crawford Gallery holds a portrait of Nano Nagle attributed to O'Keeffe.
References
- ^ Strickland, Walter G. (1913). "John O'Keeffe, Portrait and Figure Painter". A Dictionary of Irish Artists. Dublin and London: Maunsel & Company, Limited. pp. 192–93.
- "WORK OF THE WEEK | 19 August 2019 - Crawford Art Gallery". crawfordartgallery.ie. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
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