Irish Eighteenth Century Portrait
PORTRAIT OF OWEN O’MALLEY OF SPENCER PARK
COUNTY MAYO IRELAND BY ROBIN HUNTER
Full length, standing, wearing a red coat and waistcoat and holding a shuttlecock and racket, his hat on the ground beside him.
Oil on canvas in a carved gilt wood frame.
Height: 57” (145 cm); Width: 47” (120 cm)
Labels verso: ‘Owen O’Malley/Spencer Park/Castlebar/Eldest son of Andrew Blacke O’Malley of Newcastle’
‘Owen O’Malley of Spencer Park/ Born October 1771’
Provenance:
Property of Mrs M.K.Qwen
Sotheby’s, London British Paintings 1500-1850 15th July 1988 Lot 39
Property of Sir Christopher Ondaatje
Robin Hunter, a native of Ulster, was the principal Irish portrait painter during his lifetime. By 1748 and was creating portraits and was, for many years at the head of his profession with a large and profitable practice. His portraits are known for their excellent likenesses. Today his works are held in the National Gallery of Ireland and numerous private collections.
