Mick O'Dea

Mick O'Dea (born 1958) is an Irish artist best known as a painter of portraits and historical subjects. 

The second youngest of five children, O'Dea grew up in Ennis, County Clare, the son of Mick and Margaret O'Dea. He displayed talent for portraiture at a young age, recalling "I drew incessantly." From 1976 to 1981 O'Dea studied at the National College of Art and Design, and the University of Massachusetts. He continued his studies in Barcelona and at the Winchester School of Art, where he was awarded an M.A. in European Fine Art in 1997. 

O'Dea has received numerous awards, and has exhibited internationally. Among the public collections in which his works are included are The National Gallery of Ireland, Arts Council of Ireland, Royal Hibernian Academy, Bank of Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick, The National Self-Portrait Collection, The National Drawing Collection, and Limerick City Gallery of Art. He has taught at the National College of Art and Design, Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, The National Gallery, Portlaoise Prison, the Lyme Academy College of Fine Art and the Royal Hibernian Academy, of which he is a member. From 2008 to 2011 he was the first School Principal of the RHA.In 2014 he was elected President of the Royal Hibernian Academy. He is a member of Aosdána.

In 2009 O'Dea was commissioned by the National Gallery of Ireland to paint a portrait of playwright Brian Friel. Recent historical themes have included paintings depicting the Black and Tans and the Irish War of Independence.

Notes

References
 Mick O'Dea, RHA, Clare County Library
 Portrait of a contented man, Independent.ie, July 22, 2012
 Making history, Irish examiner, July 22, 2012
 biography, RHA
 Optical measure, The Irish Times, June 23, 2012
 clip from The Beholder, a documentary about three prominent Irish portrait artists
 Painting donated to University College Cork.
 Trouble, The Irish Times, April 27, 2012
 Ministry of Culture unveils portrait of Brian Friel at National Gallery, National Gallery of Ireland
 Portrait of Brian Friel unveiled, Irishowen News, 22 July, 2012

External links
 Mick O'Dea website
 Mick O'Dea at the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery
 RHA stands its ground as Mick O'Dea does a mini- Sensation, Circa Art Magazine, May 28, 2003

Category:20th-century Irish painters
Category:21st-century Irish painters
Category:Irish male painters
Category:Aosdána members
Category:1958 births
Category:Living people