Alfred Henry O'Keeffe
Encyclopedia
Alfred Henry O'Keeffe was a notable New Zealand
artist and art teacher, who spent the majority of his life in Dunedin
. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, he was one of the few New Zealand artists to engage with new ideas while staying in New Zealand. At this time most adventurous New Zealand painters, such as Frances Hodgkins
, went overseas. He has sometimes been described as a Vasari - a recorder of artists and their doings - based upon his published recollections, which are the only first hand published account of that milieu.
O'Keeffe was born in Sandhurst, Victoria
, Australia
in 1858. By c.1865 he and his family had moved to Dunedin
. O'Keeffe studied at the Dunedin School of Art c.1881-86 and later at the Académie Julian
in Paris
in 1894-1895. He started exhibiting at the Otago Art Society in 1886 and also exhibited with the Canterbury Society of Arts, the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
, the Auckland Society of Arts, South Canterbury Arts Society and the Wanganui Society of Arts and Crafts.
The demands of providing for his wife and six children meant O'Keeffe could not always afford to work as a full time artist. Before going to Paris he managed the Liverpool Arms Hotel in Dunedin. After his return, from 1896–1905, he ran the Outram Hotel.
He also supplemented his income by teaching art. While living at Outram
he took private classes in Dunedin, walking the 14 miles between. He taught at the Dunedin School of Art from 1912 until its temporary closure in 1920. In the early 1920s he taught at the 'Barn Studio' with Mabel Hill. Her 1913 portrait of O'Keeffe is now in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery
.
Four of O'Keeffe's six children predeceased him. His two sons Lawrence and Victor were both killed in 1915 at Gallipoli
. This experience is commemorated in his best known painting The Defence Minister's Telegram (1921, Dunedin Public Art Gallery), which shows an elderly man receiving news of his son's death. One of his daughters died in 1917 and another in 1939.
O'Keeffe's finest paintings date from the 1920s and 1930s, however, most critical attention has concentrated on works painted in the first decade of the 20th century, notably Roses and Arum Lilies of 1906, now in the Auckland Art Gallery
, and The Model at Rest of the same year, in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery
. His range of subject matter encompassed genre scenes, portraiture, landscapes (especially seascapes) and still life.
His work is represented in the Auckland Art Gallery
; Fletcher Collection, Auckland; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
, Wellington; Sarjeant Gallery
, Wanganui; Christchurch Art Gallery; Aigantighe Art Museum, Timaru; Dunedin Public Art Gallery
; Hocken Collections, University of Otago, Dunedin; and Anderson Park Art Gallery, Invercargill.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
artist and art teacher, who spent the majority of his life in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, he was one of the few New Zealand artists to engage with new ideas while staying in New Zealand. At this time most adventurous New Zealand painters, such as Frances Hodgkins
Frances Hodgkins
Frances Mary Hodgkins was a painter chiefly of landscape and still life, and for a short period was a designer of textiles. She was born in New Zealand, but spent most of her working life in Britain...
, went overseas. He has sometimes been described as a Vasari - a recorder of artists and their doings - based upon his published recollections, which are the only first hand published account of that milieu.
O'Keeffe was born in Sandhurst, Victoria
Sandhurst, Victoria
Sandhurst is an official bounded locality in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 37 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Frankston....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1858. By c.1865 he and his family had moved to Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. O'Keeffe studied at the Dunedin School of Art c.1881-86 and later at the Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1894-1895. He started exhibiting at the Otago Art Society in 1886 and also exhibited with the Canterbury Society of Arts, the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts
The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts galleries were opened as a free public gallery on Whitmore Street in 1892...
, the Auckland Society of Arts, South Canterbury Arts Society and the Wanganui Society of Arts and Crafts.
The demands of providing for his wife and six children meant O'Keeffe could not always afford to work as a full time artist. Before going to Paris he managed the Liverpool Arms Hotel in Dunedin. After his return, from 1896–1905, he ran the Outram Hotel.
He also supplemented his income by teaching art. While living at Outram
Outram
Outram may refer to:Places:*Outram, Nova Scotia, an unincorporated district in Canada*Outram, New Zealand, a small town in Otago*Outram, Singapore, a district in central Singapore*Outram Island, one of the Andaman IslandsPeople:...
he took private classes in Dunedin, walking the 14 miles between. He taught at the Dunedin School of Art from 1912 until its temporary closure in 1920. In the early 1920s he taught at the 'Barn Studio' with Mabel Hill. Her 1913 portrait of O'Keeffe is now in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Dunedin Public Art Gallery
The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, municipal chambers, and other facilities such as the Regent Theatre.-History:The gallery was founded by...
.
Four of O'Keeffe's six children predeceased him. His two sons Lawrence and Victor were both killed in 1915 at Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
. This experience is commemorated in his best known painting The Defence Minister's Telegram (1921, Dunedin Public Art Gallery), which shows an elderly man receiving news of his son's death. One of his daughters died in 1917 and another in 1939.
O'Keeffe's finest paintings date from the 1920s and 1930s, however, most critical attention has concentrated on works painted in the first decade of the 20th century, notably Roses and Arum Lilies of 1906, now in the Auckland Art Gallery
Auckland Art Gallery
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand and has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand...
, and The Model at Rest of the same year, in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Dunedin Public Art Gallery
The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, municipal chambers, and other facilities such as the Regent Theatre.-History:The gallery was founded by...
. His range of subject matter encompassed genre scenes, portraiture, landscapes (especially seascapes) and still life.
His work is represented in the Auckland Art Gallery
Auckland Art Gallery
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand and has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand...
; Fletcher Collection, Auckland; Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
, Wellington; Sarjeant Gallery
Sarjeant Gallery
The Sarjeant Art Gallery is located in Queen's Park, Wanganui. The Gallery was built as the result of a bequest to the city by Henry Sarjeant in 1912, and is listed as a Category I Historic Place and has the highest possible listing under the New Zealand Historic Places Trust Act .Among its...
, Wanganui; Christchurch Art Gallery; Aigantighe Art Museum, Timaru; Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Dunedin Public Art Gallery
The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, municipal chambers, and other facilities such as the Regent Theatre.-History:The gallery was founded by...
; Hocken Collections, University of Otago, Dunedin; and Anderson Park Art Gallery, Invercargill.
Scholarship on O'Keeffe
To date the five main resources on O'Keeffe are:- Ralph Body, 'The Doyen of Dunedin Art: Alfred Henry O'Keeffe's Late Works', The Journal of New Zealand Art History, vol. 30, 2009, pp. 17–36.
- Ralph Body, 'Alfred Henry O'Keeffe in Retrospect: Paint and Personality', MA thesis, Dunedin, 2008.
- Peter EntwislePeter EntwislePeter Entwisle is a New Zealand art historian and writer, notably on the history of Dunedin and of New Zealand art.Born in England, he moved to Dunedin as a child and was educated at George Street Normal School and the University of Otago from where he graduated in 1975 with a BA and MLitt in...
, 'Alfred Henry O'Keeffe', in William Mathew Hodgkins & His Circle, Dunedin, 1984 - Barry Cleavin, 'An appreciation of A. H. O'Keeffe, painter, 1858—1941'. DipFA thesis, Canterbury, 1966
Images by Alfred Henry O'Keeffe on the Web
- Auckland Art Gallery
- Christchurch Art Gallery
- Fletcher Collection
- New Zealand War Art
- Dunedin Public Art GalleryDunedin Public Art GalleryThe Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, municipal chambers, and other facilities such as the Regent Theatre.-History:The gallery was founded by...
The Defence Minister's Telegram (1921)