Joseph Malachy Kavanagh facts for kids

Joseph Malachy Kavanagh (born 1856, died 1918) was an Irish painter. He was known for painting beautiful landscapes. He also painted seascapes and scenes from the countryside. He found inspiration in Ireland, France, and Belgium. Dublin, his hometown, was a special place for his art.

The Life of Joseph Kavanagh

Joseph Kavanagh was born in Dublin. Even though he painted a lot, his artworks are very rare today. In 1910, he became the Keeper of the Royal Hibernian Academy. This was a very important job. He was given a studio on the top floor of Academy House in Dublin.

However, this important role brought him bad luck. During the Easter Rising in 1916, Academy House was badly damaged. Shells hit the building, and a fire started. This fire destroyed his studio and most of his paintings. It was a huge loss for him.

A writer named Aidan Dunne described what happened. He said that Kavanagh was painting when a shell hit the building. A piece of metal broke a window and flew into the ceiling. The building caught fire from a barricade on the street. Kavanagh quickly grabbed important documents and ran to safety. The fire destroyed the building. It also destroyed all the art in the annual exhibition. Most sadly, it destroyed all of Kavanagh’s life’s work. He never truly got over this loss.

British soldiers arrested him as he left the burning building. He was held for a week. After this, his health got worse. Kavanagh asked for money for his lost art. The fire at Academy House destroyed over 500 artworks. These included paintings by famous artists like Jack Butler Yeats.

Records show he died in Dublin in April 1918. He lived near Patrick Pearse and his brother Willie Pearse. They were leaders of the Easter Rising.

Because his paintings are so rare, some fake ones have been sold. But Kavanagh usually signed his real artworks.

Joseph Kavanagh's Art Career

Kavanagh first showed his art at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1875. In 1881, he won a special scholarship. He traveled to Antwerp with other artists. There, they studied painting at the Académie Royale.

In 1883, he visited Brittany in France. He met other young artists there. They were all interested in painting outdoors. This style is called plein air naturalism. It means painting directly from nature. Kavanagh painted similar scenes to his friends. He focused on towns like Quimperle and Dinan.

His paintings from this time show a strong sense of depth. He was very interested in how buildings looked. He used calm and soft colors in his art.

Kavanagh returned to Dublin in 1887. In 1890, he made a series of prints. These were etchings of landscapes. They included scenes from Mont St. Michel and Bruges. The British Museum bought some of these prints.

In the 1890s, he lived in Clontarf, near Dublin. He painted many views around Howth and Dublin Bay. He also painted scenes of people picking cockles on the sands. He often painted marshlands and ponds. He also painted along Dublin’s rivers.

He became an Associate member of the RHA in 1889. He became a full Member in 1892. He taught at the RHA schools for many years. He showed his art regularly at the RHA. He also took part in Hugh Lane's art exhibition in London in 1904.

A director of the National Gallery of Ireland once wrote about Kavanagh. He said Kavanagh had a wider range of skills than some other artists. But he also noted that there were not enough of Kavanagh's paintings in public collections. This made it hard to fully appreciate his work.

Known Artworks by Joseph Kavanagh

Here are some of the artworks by Kavanagh that have been sold.

Paintings with Dates

• Under the shadow of St Jacques (1881)
• Old convent gate, Dinan (1883)
• An Old Flemish Draw-Well, Merxem (1883) (Belgium)
• On the Banks of the Laita, Finistere (1885)
• A Breton Byeway (1886)
  • This painting was described as "charming" when first shown.
• Pursuing his gentle calling’ (1887), a self-portrait
• The Meadow Water at Swords (1893)
• DUBLIN BAY COCKLE PICKERS (1895)
• Woodland Pastures (1902)
• Flecked with Sunlight (1903)
• The Stately Elm and In Rathfarnham Park (1903)
• "Gathering Mushrooms" - a study Sepia (around 1904)
• A November Evening (1904)
• The Hum of Summers in the Grove (1905)
• Between the Autumn and the Spring (1905)
• Sheep in Pastures, Kilcock, Co. Dublin
• August Noon, Feltrim Hill, Co. Dublin (1906)
• In The Grey of The Morning (1907)
• Dartry Pond (1911)
• Old Dublin - Marrowbone Lane (1918)
• Looking for the Best Spot

Paintings Without Dates

• The Drover with his Flock, Homeward Bound
• The Dice Throwers
• Looking Out to Sea
• Pope Pius XII
• Gipsy Encampment on the Curragh

Etchings (from 1890)

These etchings are held in the British Museum:

• A Metallurgist
• The King's Gate, Mont St. Michel
• On the ramparts, Mont St. Michel
• Port du Baudets, Bruges
• The setting sun

Images for kids

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  Probably the mouth of the Santry River at Raheny on the Dublin coast, 1895

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  Old Dublin

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  Gipsy Encampment on the Curragh by Joseph Malachy Kavanagh