Artwork by John O'Neil

John O’Neil

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P R E S E N T E D B Y W I L L I A M R E AV E S | S A R A H F O LT Z F I N E A R T

"Drawings "Drawingsand andpaintings paintingsare are mediums mediums that that offer offer the the most most nearly nearly personal personal statement statement that that the the artist artist can can make. make.The The very very directness directness of of contact contact between between pencil pencil and and paper, paper, the the subtle subtle gradations gradations of of line line and and tone tone possible possible form form a a kind kind of of calligraphic calligraphic record record that that is is often often a a clue clue to to the the artist's artist's personality...” personality...”

John O’Neil is a noted 20th century American artist, art educator, and writer. In his work, O’Neil was interested primarily in focusing on the nature of light and color and in painting geometric abstractions beginning in the late 1940s. Developing further over the course of his career, he moved from an early Regionalist style to Abstract Expressionism.

- John O’Neil, 1952

Following the war, O’Neil worked in various academic positions at New York University, the University of Michigan, the University of Oklahoma, and Rice University. In 1951, he was appointed director of the Art Department at the University of Oklahoma.

After the war in 1951, he studied at the University of

Born in Kansas City, Missouri on June 16, 1915, and raised in Oklahoma City, O’Neil received his B.F.A. in 1936 and his M.F.A. in Painting in 1939 from the University of Oklahoma, studying under Boardman Robinson. In 1936 and 1937, he studied under Henry Varnum Poor and Paul Burlin in Colorado, followed by studying under Emil Bisttram and Raymond Jonson at the Taos School of Art. In 1942, O’Neil served with the Army Corps of Engineers in Algeria, creating maps of Italy in preparation for the Allied invasion. In 1944 and 1945, he served as a graphic artist at the Pentagon in Washington, DC until 1946 when he was discharged.

Florence Italy, followed by the Studio Hinna in Rome in 1952. During the 1950s, he traveled extensively to the Netherlands, England, and Europe. In addition to painting and teaching, he also designed sets for opera productions and record album covers for Composers Recordings. Throughout the years, he contributed to various international art publication.

In 1965, O’Neil came to Rice University where he was Department Head and taught in the burgeoning Art Department until 1970. Primarily working in acrylic and oil pastels, his work from the 1960s forward tend towards vibrant abstractions which hint at his early training with Emile Bisttram and Raymond Jonson in Taos in the late 1930s. During his life, O’Neil was awarded numerous awards, grants, and fellowships, including: MacDowell Colony NH Resident Fellowship (1939); University of Oklahoma grant (1957); Huntington Hartford Resident Fellowship (1962) plus several research grants during the 1970s. He is listed in Who’s Who in American Art, Archives of American Art, Personaggi Contemporaneii, Parma Italy, and the International Dictionary of Distinguished Leadership.

As a writer, O’Neil contributed to, “Oklahoma: A Guide to the Sooner State,” in Art & Architecture, 1957; “Thoughts on Light,” in Kunst, 1963; and “On Color,” in Cimarron Review, 1972.

Copies of O’Neil’s papers from 1945-1978 are preserved at Smithsonian Institution Archives of American art, including sketches, watercolors, poetry, correspondence, and travel memorabilia. Throughout this career, his work has been presented in over 75 exhibitions both national and international, including the 1939 World’s Fair Exhibition, Art Pavilion, New York. His work is in numerous public collections, including the Denver Art Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts.

He died at the age of 89 in Houston in 2004.

Posthumously, his work was featured in Coming Home, American Paintings 1930-1950, The Schoen Collection, published 2003 by the Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia.

-Bill Reaves, Sarah Foltz William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art

John O’Neil

No. Title of Work Date Medium Size (inches) 1

The White Angel 1951 oil on canvas 24 x 30

2

Ticino 1963 acrylic on paper 21 x 29

3

Wave 1965 acrylic on paper 21 x 29

4

Arco

5

Vortex 1966 acrylic on canvas 60 x 48

6

Dark Over White 1969 acrylic on paper 21 x 29

7

Untitled 6

8

Untitled 7 1972 pastel on paper 5.5 x 9.5

9

Lamotrek 1974 acrylic on paper 20 x 29

10

Aabehra 1977 acrylic on canvas 20 x 28

11

Drawing 18 1979 pastel on paper 13.5 x 16.5

12

Drawing 2

1979 pastel on paper 15 x 21

13

Untitled 3

1979 pastel on paper 16.5 x 21.5

14

Untitled 4

1979 pastel on paper 11.5 x 17

15

Untitled 5 c. 1980 watercolor on paper 11.5 x 15

16

Aerial Illuminations 1981 watercolor on paper 12 x 17

17

Untitled (Pinks) 1981 acrylic on canvas 20 x 28

18

Sky Fable 1984 acrylic on paper 20 x 28

19

Untitled (Orange & Blue) 1991 pastel on paper 9 x 15

20

Aerial Geometry 1986 - 92 acrylic on canvas 22 x 20

1966 acrylic on paper 21 x 29

1972 pastel on paper 5.5 x 9.5

John O’Neil

1. The White Angel, 1951, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches.

John O’Neil

2. Ticino, 1963, acrylic on paper, 21 x 29 inches.

John O’Neil

3. Wave, 1965, acrylic on paper, 21 x 29 inches.

John O’Neil

4. Arco, 1966, acrylic on paper, 21 x 29 inches.

John O’Neil

5. Vortex, 1966, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches.

John O’Neil

6. Dark Over White, 1969, acrylic on paper, 21 x 29 inches.

John O’Neil

7. Untitled 6, 1972, pastel on paper, 5.5 x 9.5 inches.

John O’Neil

8. Untitled 7, 1972, pastel on paper, 5.5 x 9.5 inches.

John O’Neil

9. Lamotrek, 1974, acrylic on paper, 20 x 29 inches.

John O’Neil

10. Aabehra, 1977, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 28 inches.

John O’Neil

11. Drawing 18, 1979, pastel on paper, 13.5 x 16.5 inches.

John O’Neil

12. Drawing 2, 1979, pastel on paper, 15 x 21 inches.

John O’Neil

13. Untitled 3, 1979, pastel on paper, 16.5 x 21.5 inches.

John O’Neil

14. Untitled 4, 1979, pastel on paper, 11.5 x 17 inches.

John O’Neil

15. Untitled 5, c. 1980, watercolor on paper, 11.5 x 15 inches.

John O’Neil

16. Aerial Illuminations, 1981, watercolor on paper, 12 x 17 inches.

John O’Neil

17. Untitled (Pinks), 1981, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 28 inches.

John O’Neil

18. Sky Fable, 1984, acrylic on paper, 20 x 28 inches.

John O’Neil

19. Untitled (Orange & Blue), 1991, pastel on paper, 9 x 15 inches.

John O’Neil

20. Aerial Geometry, 1986 - 92, acrylic on canvas, 22 x 20 inches.

Selected Biographical and Career Highlights

Selected Exhibitions

1915

Born in 1915 in Kansas City, MO

1936

Works on Paper, Firehouse Art Center, Norman, OK

1936

BFA, University of Oklahoma

1939

World’s Fair New York

1939

MFA, Painting, University of Oklahoma

1941

Carnegie Institute

1936-1937

Studied at the Colorado Springs Arts Center

1939, 1941 Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center

1939

MacDowell Colony NH Resident Fellowship

1940

Denver Art Museum

1939-1965 Professor of painting, University of Oklahoma

1941

Directions in American Painting, Carnegie Institute

1942

Studied at the Taos School of Art

1941

1943-1946

Served as a topographer in the US Army Corps of Engineers in North Africa and Washington, D.C.

Texas Oklahoma General Exhibition, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Witte Memorial Museum, San Antonio, TX; and Philbrook Art Museum, Tulsa, OK

1951

Studied at University of Florence, Italy

1951-1965 Director of the School of Art, University of Oklahoma

1946 Troisieme Salon International des Realites Nouvelles, Paris, France

1952

Studied at the Studio Hinna, Rome, Italy

1948

Abstract & Surrealist Art, Art Institute of Chicago

1957

University of Oklahoma grant

1949

1962

Huntington Hartford Resident Fellowship

Second Southwestern Exhibitions of Prints and Drawings, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX

1950

Third Southwestern Exhibition of Prints and Drawings, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX; Neiman-Marcus Company Purchase Prize for Drawing

1953

Contemporary American Painting, University of Illinois

1958

Recent Paintings by John O’Neil, University of Oklahoma Museum of Art

1965-1970 Chairman of Art Department, Rice University, Houston 1971-1977 Director, Sewall Art Gallery 1980 Joseph/Joanna Nazro Mullan Professor Emeritus, Art and Art History

1968

Tenth Annual Invitational Exhibit, Nicholson Memorial Library, Longview, TX; Kela Bourdon Memorial Award

1970s

Louisiana Gallery, Houston, TX

1972Â

Art Group M-59 Exhibition, Copenhagen, Denmark

2001

Surrealism: An American Attitude, Thomas McCormick Gallery, Chicago, IL

2003 Coming Home: American Paintings 1930-1950, The Schoen Collection, Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia

Selected Collections Central High School, Oklahoma City, OK Dallas Museum Fine Arts, Dallas, TX Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO Fred Jones, Jr. Museum of Art at University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK Friends of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL Joslyn Museum, Omaha, NE Kansas State College, Manhattan, KS Laguna Beach Art Association, Laguna Beach, CA Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art, Shawnee, OK

Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, OK Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, OK Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI

About William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art

H OUSTON’S T EXAS- C ENTERED G ALLERY

William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art, originally established in 2006 in Houston, Texas, is dedicated to the promotion of

premier Texas artists of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing particularly on historically significant artists active in the state during the period of 1900‒1975.

The gallery showcases many of the state’s most accomplished and recognized talents, all of whom have significant

connections to Texas and have evidenced the highest standards of quality in their work, training, and professionalism. In addition to its general focus on Early Texas Art, the gallery places special emphasis on the rediscovery and presentation

of midcentury works by Houston and South Texas artists. William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art is the foremost provider of

Texas Modern Art, which includes midcentury masters and pioneering expressionists working in the state. The gallery also

represents a dynamic group of contemporary artists, known as the Contemporary Texas Regionalists, actively showing their works in annual gallery exhibitions as well as traveling exhibitions throughout the state.

William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art is a comprehensive gallery offering fine art appraisals, consultation, collections

management, brokerage, and sales services. The gallery exhibits artists working in a variety of media including painting, sculpture, works on paper, and photography. In order to promote interest and broaden knowledge of earlier Texas art,

William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art supports related gallery talks, community events, scholarly research, and publications.

Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm and other times by appointment.

Gallery Contacts:

William Reaves, President william@reavesart.com

Sarah Foltz, Director sarah@reavesart.com