Cecil Crawford O'Gorman facts for kids

Cecil Crawford O'Gorman (1874 – 1943) was a talented man from Ireland. He worked as a mining engineer and a chemist. He was also a well-known painter.

Life and Work

Early Life and Moving to Mexico

Cecil Crawford O'Gorman was born in Ireland in 1874. His grandfather, Charles O'Gorman, was important. He was the first British consul to Mexico back in 1823. Cecil studied engineering in Dublin, Ireland.

In 1895, Cecil moved to Mexico. He went there to work for a British mining company. But working in the mines made him sick. So, he changed his career and became a chemist instead.

Family Life

In Mexico, Cecil met and married his distant cousin, Encarnación O'Gorman. They had four children together. Two of their sons became very famous. Juan O'Gorman became a well-known architect. Edmundo O'Gorman became a respected historian. They also had two daughters, Margarita and Tomás.

Cecil's son, Juan, wrote about their family life. He shared how brave his father was during the Mexican Revolution. Cecil worked hard to keep his family safe during those difficult times.

A Special House Design

The Cecil O'Gorman House, designed by his son Juan.

In 1928, Cecil asked his son Juan to design a house for him and his wife. This house became very famous. It was the first "modernist" house built in Mexico. Modernist means it had a new, simple, and functional design.

The house is called the "Cecil O'Gorman House." It is located in a neighborhood called San Ángel in Mexico City. Right next door is another famous house. It belongs to the artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Their house was finished a few years later, in 1932. In 2012, the Mexican government bought the Cecil O'Gorman House. It is now protected as an important building.

Cecil's Art Career

Cecil O'Gorman also loved to paint. He took classes from a famous artist named Saturnino Herrán. To get even better, he traveled to France to study painting.

He became part of a group of artists in Mexico. This group was important to what people called the "Mexican Renaissance." This was a time when art in Mexico was really growing and changing. Other artists in this group included Alfonso Michel and Manuel González Serrano.

Cecil became well known for his paintings. He painted many portraits of people. He also painted beautiful landscapes and large murals. His art was often seen as traditional and realistic. After he passed away in 1943, a special art show was held. It showed many of his works at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, a famous art palace in Mexico.