George O'Brien Australia, New Zealand, 1821-88
Past Sales
Sales by Medium
Where to buy or sell art works by George O'Brien
Auction Houses
About George O'Brien
Born in Ireland in 1821, George O'Brien arrived in Australia in circa 1839. An artist and architect, he was noted for his watercolour paintings of Melbourne and its environs. In 1863 he migrated to New Zealand and settled in Dunedin, exhibiting with the Otago Art Society's first exhibition in 1876. In Denedin he produced detailed townscapes and landscapes of the region, and gave private lessons. He was a founding member of the Otago Art Society.
We have records of art auction sales by George O'Brien from 1973 and in total 109 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 47 (43%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $36,960 for A Flour Mill at Mosgiel sold by Webb's in August 1993. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2023. Works by George O'Brien are held by the Auckland Art Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria and a further two major public national galleries (see list below).
George O'Brien is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McCulloch, Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch-Childs. The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 4th Edition, Aus Art Melbourne & The Miegunyah Press, 2006. Page 738
- Kerr, Joan. Dictionary of Australian Artists, Painters, Sketchers, Photographers and Engravers to 1870. Oxford University Press, Australia, 1993. Page 591
- Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 349
- Gil Docking, with additions by Michael Gunn covering 1970-90. Two Hundred Years of New Zealand Painting, David Bateman Ltd., New Zealand, 1990 Page 66
- McGahey, Kate. The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists Painters Printmakers Sculptors, Gilt Edge Publishing, Wellington, New Zealand, 2000. Page 186
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
- Australian Prints + Printmaking, a database listing printmaking artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region based on the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
Artists' Resale Royalty
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
No, ineligible. The artist has been deceased for more than 70 years.
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