DANIEL O'NEILL | A DAY OUT

The Waddington Galleries, Montreal;

Private collection, Canada

Daniel O'Neill had a great affinity for the landscape, resulting in some of his most celebrated works. Essentially a romantic painter, there is a strong connection felt between humankind and Nature. This is keenly felt in the present work as groups of figures gather on a lough, majestic blue mountains behind them and under an expansive sky expressionistically rendered. There is harmony felt in the placement of the figures amongst themselves and within their environment.

Having grown up in Belfast, it was O'Neill's passion for the landscape that effected his move with his family in the early 1950s to a cottage in Conlig, a small village on the Ards Peninsula in Co. Down. O'Neill was an advocate of living a simple and uncomplicated life and held family life closely. Such principles are keenly felt as people intermingle and enjoy themselves within nature in A Day Out.