Daniel O'Neill (1920-1974) Foreshore with Figures oil on board signed lower right 36 x 46cm (14.17 x

Daniel O'Neill (1920-1974) Foreshore with Figures oil on board signed lower right 36 x 46cm (14.17 x 18.11in) Provenance: Waddington Galleries, Montreal, Canada 1968 (label verso) Private Collection In the 1960's when O'Neill artist lived in London, his paintings at the Dawson Gallery in 1960 and 1963 in association with Victor Waddington are characterized by figures in landscapes. These works coincided with trips to Kerry and Donegal, both coastal regions bounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Known as 'Dan' or 'Danny' to his friends and family, the artist briefly attended the Belfast College of art where he met Sydney Smith, who gave him some lessons and became a life long friend. Studying the Italian Renaissance painters from reproductions in the Belfast Library, O'Neill also admired the works by Van Gogh, Rousseau, Vlaminck and Rouault. Following the closure of Waddington's Gallery in Dublin, 1956, O'Neill traveled to London where Waddington continued to channel his work to his brother, George's gallery in Montreal. In 1966, George Waddington fell ill and Victor's son, Theo took over his Uncle's gallery and held O'Neill last solo exhibition in 1967 From his studies of the Florentine Masters, he learnt how to apply glazes to add subtlety, depth and nuance to the colours. Fascinated with the effects of texture on the painting surface, O'Neill's paintings evoke a surreal quality. His visits to Kerry and Donegal would have been a dramatic change from life in London. This work may symbolize his feelings of freedom and enchantment of nature and the Western landscapes. By deliberately positioned the figures in the foreground, the viewer is drawn into the composition of diagonal planes of vibrant colour. Figures are depicted with little or no detail and yet appear as the proper inhabitants in their surreal landscape. By scaling away detail, O'Neill has created an enigmatic landscape where figures linger in their own magic world. Karen Reihill March 2015