Geraldine O'Brien

Geraldine Hely-Hutchinson
Born Geraldine O'Brien
27 February 1922
Died 3 July 2014
Charleville, County Cork,

Geraldine O'Brien (27 February 1922-3 July 2014), was an Irish botanical illustrator.

Early life

Born Geraldine Mary O'Brien on 27 February 1922. Her parents were Donough Richard O'Brien and Cicely Maud Carus-Wilson a distinguished artist.[1] She was cousin to both the artist Dermod O'Brien PRHA and President of the Watercolour Society Kitty Wilmer O'Brien RHA.[2][3]

Education and exhibitions

She was educated in Dublin where she won prizes in the international competitions of the Royal Drawing Society (London).[4] At 17 she spent a year in West Cornwall with Stanhope Alexander Forbes and at 18 she took part in her first exhibition at the Royal Hibernian Academy. It became difficult to study internationally with the outbreak of the Second World War. However O'Brien took the opportunity to use her skills for the war effort and turned to mechanical drawing. However it was as a botanical illustrator she was best known. Her studio in Limerick was always called the piggery and was where she brought the plants from her garden in to arrange for her work. She continued to exhibit on a regular basis both with the RHA and private exhibitions around Ireland.[2][5]On occasion she would use her art to raise funds for charities like Friends of St Luke's Hospital in Rathgar.[5]

Personal life

O'Brien married David Coote Hely Hutchinson on 25 September 1948 with whom she had one daughter. They lived in 2003 at Parteen, Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland. She died in St. Martha's Nursing Home, Charleville, County Cork on 3 July 2014. [6][2]

References and sources

  1. ↑ "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "Geraldine O' Brien – Gallery 4". gallery4.ie.
  3. ↑ McMahon, Morgan P. "The art gallery of Limerick" (PDF). Mungret College.
  4. ↑ "Bio of Organisation".
  5. 1 2 "Opening Lines". The Irish Times.
  6. ↑ "HELY-HUTCHINSON, Geraldine : Death notice - Irish Times Family Notices". notices.irishtimes.com.
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