Norah OKelly RHA (b.1886 - unknown)
Hermes
Enamel Panels and metalwork on a stained timber shield, 67 x32 (26½ x 12½")

With label verso inscribed with artist's name, details of class number from...

Norah OKelly RHA (b.1886 - unknown)
Hermes
Enamel Panels and metalwork on a stained timber shield, 67 x32 (26½ x 12½")

With label verso inscribed with artist's name, details of class number from Dublin School of Art dated and 1912; and another hand written label 'By Norah M. O'Kelly under P. Oswald Reeves at Dublin School of Art'.

 

We do not know much of Norah’s life or career except for small fragments of information that we can gain from the work itself. The labels on the back of enamel panel give us some more insight. Her full name was Norah Mary O’Kelly, she was a student in class 6019 in the Dublin School of Art and her profession is listed as ‘craftworker’. Presumably the panel was made during her time there as a student. It also lists her under the supervision of Percy Oswald Reeves, who was an enameller and metalworker from England who moved to Ireland in 1902 to work at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. He had studied under the famous British enameller Alexander Fisher. The School was very well known for its enamel and stained glass departments, which were both hugely popular art forms in Ireland. As a result the Irish Arts and Crafts movement flourished in the early part of the 20th century.

Mythology and symbolism are key elements of the enamel and metalwork art of the period. As a medium it as often championed by women who excelled in this artform, elevating the individual and handmade objects. The central panel of this work depicts the Greek god Hermes, standing with his caduceus in one hand and with a satchel slung across his body. His head and feet are adorned with wings as he seems to float above the landscape behind him. The sky is filled with deep blue and turquoise tones, teeming with swimming fish and a majestic lion, while stars light up the background. It is mounted on a wooden shield shaped plaque, with scrolling vacant reserves that were possibly meant to be engraved with a title and the artist’s name or dedication if it was a private commission, but these are details that we can only speculate at.

Historical records also prove invaluable in providing an insight into the specific connections between artists and cultural institutions of early 20th century. Dr Katy Milligan wrote an article[1] in 2016 examining the cultural losses connected to the 1916 rising and in particular the fire that destroyed the Royal Hibernian Academy’s original building on Abbey Street. The annual RHA exhibition was taking place at time the shell was fired from the British Navy yacht Helga, igniting a fire which engulfed the building and all 500 of the artworks on display along with the Academy’s collection of prints, books and other objects. Through her research into the claims made to the Property Losses (Ireland) Committee by the RHA and the artists to gain some compensation for loss of their artwork, Dr Milligan uncovered some fascinating details about artists, particularly female artists, whose work, and careers remain much a of mystery to us today.

Norah O’Kelly is one of the artists mentioned in her text and we learn that she had four oil paintings in the RHA exhibition in 1916, all of which were of landscape views of India. Interestingly she was living there at the time as indicated by her father submitting the claim on her behalf. On it her address is listed as ‘Loreto House, & Middleton Row, Calcutta’, a school founded by Loreto sisters in 1840. We do not know why she was in India or how long she remained there. The 1911 census confirms she was an art teacher in her 20s, and she may possibly have been offered a teaching job in India. She had clearly moved in a different direction artistically from metalwork to producing oils and landscape works. This enamel panel is a wonderful example of her early practice and it is a rare opportunity to see it offered on the auction market.

 

Niamh Corcoran, September 2023

 

 

[1] Dr. Katy Milligan ‘A Closer Look at Inspiring Ireland 1916 Objects- The Cultural Cost of 1916: The Property Losses (Ireland) Committee and The Royal Hibernian Academy’ – Research Fellow at the ESB Centre for Study of Irish Art, at The National Gallery of Ireland

 

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