Hughie O’Donoghue was born in Manchester, England but much of his work is influenced by time spent in his mother’s place of origin, the remote Barony of Erris in Co Mayo, Ireland. His paintings explore themes of universal human experience, often on an epic scale, they meditate on ideas of truth and the relationship between memory and identity, drawing on history and personal records to create works which resonate with emotional intensity.
O’Donoghue was elected as a Royal Academician in the category of Painting in 2009. He completed an MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths in 1982 and was Artist in Residence at the National Gallery, London from 1984-85. Major solo museum exhibitions include Haus der Kunst, Munich; Imperial War Museum, London; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Leeds City Art Gallery; DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague; The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; The Gemeentemuseum, The Hague and Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris.
Born: 1953 in Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Elected RA: 28 May 2009
Gender: Male
Preferred media: Painting
Made exclusively for the Friends of the Royal Academy, Varnishing Day: A Moment in Time features the work of 100 Royal Academicians.
Conceived by Hughie O’Donoghue RA and David Mach RA, with the assistance of Ian Ritchie RA, this beautiful portfolio includes work from some of the heavyweights in British art – Tracey Emin RA, Grayson Perry RA, Yinka Shonibare RA and Farshid Moussavi RA.
The Portfolio is available exclusively to Friends and the only way to access it is by joining as a Friend of the RA.
Hughie O'Donoghue RA, Rioba: Il Papa.
2018 Scorched Earth, Marlborough Fine Art, London
2017 The Tempest: Ireland. Memory. Identity, Belfast International Arts Festival,
Belfast
2016 One Hundred Years and Four Quarters, Galway International Arts Festival,
Galway
The Red Earth, Visual Carlow, Carlow
Seven Halts on the Somme, Leighton House, London
2015 Hughie O’Donoghue, Permanent Green, Marlborough Fine Art, London
2014 Seven Halts on The Somme, Verey Gallery, Eton College, Berkshire
The Measure of all Things, The Chapter House, Westminster Abbey, London
2013 University Gallery, Newcastle
2012 Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal
2011 DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague
2008 James Hyman Gallery, London
2007 Michael Janssen Gallery, Berlin, Germany
University Gallery and Baring Wing, University of Northumbria, Newcastle
2006 Purdy Hicks Gallery, London
2005 Purdy Hicks Gallery, London
Fenton Gallery, Cork
Arts Council
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Ashmolean Museum of Art, Oxford, England
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, England
British Museum, London, England
Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford, England
Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, England
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England
Huddersfield Art Gallery, Huddersfield, England
Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, Scotland
The Imperial War Museum, London, England
The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
The National Gallery, London, England
Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland
University of Michigan, Museum of Art, Ann Arbour, USA
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, England
Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester, Manchester, England
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, USA
Hughie O’Donoghue RA discusses a new collaborative artwork – produced by Royal Academicians to raise funds for the Academy during this critical time.
The Royal Academician explains how the nature of memory and a sense of place are driving forces in his latest series of paintings.
From a survey of the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh at Glasgow’s Hunterian to the last days of shows from Sean Scully RA, Phyllida Barlow RA and more.
From marking the centenary of World War I at the Imperial War Museum to Salisbury Cathedral, where John Maine RA’s sculptures are set around the grounds.
As an exhibition honouring the British art of the First World War opens at the Imperial War Museum a century after its outbreak, the painter discusses the impact of these works.
In the second of our behind-the-scenes videos about the RA Summer Exhibition 2014, we take a look at the judging process and speak to the exhibition’s coordinator Hughie O‘Donoghue RA.
Over a seafood lunch the Academician discusses why the world is her oyster when it comes to making her art.