Hughie O'Donoghue was born in Manchester in 1953. His father who was second generation Irish immigrants to Britain, encouraged him to study History and Literarture at University and spend time in Manchester City Art Gallery. This period proved to be formative for O'Donoghue's later artistic career. His mother was originally from Gaeltacht area of County Mayo, a place that O'Donoghue spent a lot time as a child.
He graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Goldsmith's College, in 1982. This was
followed by a two-year residency in the National Gallery in London in 1984. His first solo exhibition was in 1984 at AIR Gallery, London.
O'Donoghue has huge respect for historic methods of art making which has led him to be praised for his technical skill in painting and also in draughtsmanship, which plays an important role in his process. His work is abstract in style, presenting the human body as distorted and blurred forms, drawn in thick and heavy brushstrokes. He often applies numerous layers of paint, or includes photographs or documentary sources within the canvas, covered in more paint. The surfaces of his canvas are full of texture, in which the material takes paramount importance. This process of layering reflects O'Donoghue's interest in engaging with historical narratives, often personal in nature, so that he can express the serial form of experience and memory.
O’Donoghue was elected as a member of the Royal Academy in 2009. He is in major private and public collections nationally and internationally. In 2013 O’Donoghue was selected to design windows for the Henry VII, Lady Chapel, at Westminster Abbey.
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