Biography
Hughie O’Donoghue RA was born in Manchester, England, although many of his early summers were spent in Bangor Erris, North-west Mayo. The stark Irish scenery with its accompanying sense of tragedy, derived from the days of The Great Famine, found later expression in O’Donoghue’s art.
Hughie O’Donoghue studied at Goldsmiths’ College, University of London, and since then has been exhibiting his work in a variety of international solo and group exhibitions. His painterly skills, together with his research into his subjects, has enabled him to produce a highly acclaimed body of work, several prestigious awards (including an honorary doctorate from University College Cork) and a distinguished reputation, not least for his masterful expression of human suffering.
He has exhibited widely in the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Holland, Australia, and the USA. O’Donoghue was elected as a member of the Royal Academy in 2000. He is in major private and public collections nationally and internationally including the British Museum; Trinity College, Dublin; Gemeentemuseum, Netherlands; and Art Gallery of South Australia.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2012 Exhibition at Albert Hall, London
2011 Raharc 6 Contemporary Painters from Ireland, Irish American Society, New York
2010 Last Days on the Island, Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin
2011 Dox Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague
2007, Last Poems, Galerie Michael Janssen, Berlin
2006 Souvenir of St. Valery, Purdy Hicks Gallery, London
Selected Group Exhibitions
2011, Afterlife, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK
2010 RHA Summer Exhibition, Dublin
2007-2008 I’m Always Touched by your Presence, Dear – New Acquisitions, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin
2005 Ljubjana International Graphic Biennale representing Great Britain