James Arthur O'Connor

Alfred Webb

A Compendium of Irish Biography

1878

O'Connor, James Arthur, a self-taught artist, was born about 1790, as it is believed, in Dublin, where he kept a print-shop early in the present century. Danby, attracted by his talents, made his acquaintance, and took him to London, where they worked together for some time. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1828. He spent some years in Brussels, was driven back to London by the Revolution of 1830, and continued to exhibit annually until 1840, about which time he died in considerable distress, owing, it is said, to intemperate habits. Ottley says: "O'Connor painted rustic landscapes, chiefly scenes in Ireland, with a fine eye and feeling for nature; and although he executed his works with great rapidity, often painting a picture in a day, he displayed a peculiar richness of impasto, particularly in foliage. .. O'Connor's more carefully finished pictures are in considerable request with collectors.

Sources

277a. Painters and Engravers, Dictionary of Recent and Living: Henry Ottley. London, 1875.

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