Catherine O'Brien (artist) facts for kids

Catherine Amelia "Kitty" O'Brien (born June 19, 1881 – died July 18, 1963) was a famous Irish stained glass artist. She was an important member and later the director of a special art studio called An Túr Gloine.

Early Life and Learning

A beautiful stained glass window by Catherine O'Brien in Ferns Cathedral.

Catherine Amelia O'Brien was born in a place called Durra House in Spancill Hill, County Clare, Ireland. This was on June 19, 1881. She was one of five children in her family. Her father, Pierce O'Brien, owned land. Her first cousin, Sophia St John Whitty, was also an artist who carved wood.

Catherine went to school at the Mercy Convent in Ennis. She was very good at art and won a scholarship. This allowed her to study at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. There, she learned from famous teachers like William Orpen. She also learned the special art of making stained glass from Alfred E. Child.

Amazing Artworks

Catherine O'Brien created many beautiful stained glass pieces. One of her first big projects was the St Ita window in St Brendan's cathedral in Loughrea in 1904. This window was designed by Sarah Purser.

In 1906, Catherine joined An Túr Gloine, which means "The Tower of Glass." This was a famous studio for making stained glass. Her first work there was the Angel of the Annunciation window. It was made for a convent chapel in Enniskillen.

In 1912, she designed a window for a private chapel in Coolcarrigan, Naas, County Kildare. For this, she used old Irish designs, some inspired by the famous Book of Durrow. In 1914, she traveled to Paris, Rouen, and Chartres with Sarah Purser and Wilhelmina Geddes. They looked at the amazing cathedrals there.

Catherine designed three windows for the Honan Chapel at University College Cork in 1916. These windows showed St John, St Flannan, and St Munchin. In 1923, she made a window for St Andrew's church in Lucan. It showed the story of the Good Shepherd.

In 1925, An Túr Gloine became a cooperative. This meant the artists shared ownership. Catherine O'Brien became a shareholder, along with other artists like Ethel Rhind, Evie Hone, and Michael Healy.

One of her unique pieces was The spirit of night from 1926. This artwork showed night, twilight, and dawn. It was made for a private home in Singapore, but the building was later taken down. She also made a window of St Catherine of Siena for a convent in Newton, Massachusetts in 1927.

In 1931, Catherine created a St Patrick window for a school in Singapore. This is the only stained glass artwork by an Irish artist still in Singapore today. Like Ethel Rhind, Catherine also used a technique called opus sectile. This is a type of mosaic art where pieces of glass or stone are cut and fitted together. An example is her 1936 work Mass in penal days in Athlone, County Westmeath.

Catherine also helped create ten windows for the Brophy College Chapel in Phoenix, Arizona in 1937. She made two of these windows herself. From 1937 to 1947, she worked on 22 opus sectile panels for a church in Ennis.

In 1940, Sarah Purser retired from An Túr Gloine. Catherine O'Brien took over as the new director. She even bought the studio and its contents in 1944. Later, she rented part of the studio to another stained-glass artist, Patrick Pollen.

Catherine showed her art at the Irish Exhibition of Living Art in 1953. She also exhibited at the Arts and Crafts Society of Ireland in 1958. When a fire damaged the An Túr Gloine studios in 1958, she bravely rebuilt them. They reopened in 1959.

Catherine was also active in groups like the Soroptimists and the Guild of Irish Art Workers. Her very last completed work was a three-part window for the Church of St Multose in Kinsale in 1962. She was working on two more windows for the private chapel of Áras an Uachtaráin (the home of the President of Ireland) when she passed away.

Death and What She Left Behind

A detail from a window by Patrick Pollen, which honors Catherine O'Brien.

Catherine O'Brien died in Dublin on July 18, 1963. She is buried in Whitechurch Parish Graveyard, County Dublin.

A window designed by Patrick Pollen in the St Laurence O'Toole chapel at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin remembers her. Catherine had made flower arrangements there for forty years. Today, over 150 of her drawings from An Túr Gloine are kept at the National Gallery of Ireland.

Some of Her Works

• St Patrick window, St Edan's cathedral, Ferns, County Wexford (1931).
• The sower, Killoughter Protestant church, Redhills, County Cavan (1953).
• 16 roundels, St Helen's church, Vero Beach, Florida (1958).