Lucius Richard O'Brien - Buy or Sell artwork by Lucius Richard O'Brien

Lucius Richard O'Brien

1832 - 1899

OSA PRCA

Lucius Richard O’Brien was an important nineteenth century Canadian painter who was an instrumental figure in establishing many of the major artistic and cultural intuitions in Canada. Born in Shanty Bay, Ontario, O’Brien first began to study art under John G. Howard at Upper Canada College in Toronto.

O’Brien spent most of his time painting in Ontario, Quebec and on Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick, in both oil and watercolour. By 1873, O’Brien was very active in the Toronto art world - in 1874 he became the vice-president of the Ontario Society of Artists, and he retained this position until 1880 when he helped organize the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, serving as its first president. The Academy was instrumental in creating a national art gallery, which became the National Gallery of Canada. In the Gallery’s first exhibition one of O’Brien’s works, Sunrise on the Saguenay, Cape Trinity was the star of the show, and it remains an important piece in National Gallery’s permanent collection. In 1880, he began to work on the publication Picturesque Canada, which he edited, and toured across Canada, commissioning artists to produced woodblock prints to illustrate the text. In 1886, O’Brien was one of the first artists to travel west on the newly completed Canadian Pacific Railway, and paint the Rockies and the Pacific Coast.

His landscapes are known for their realism and their fine sense of light, akin to American Luminists such as Albert Bierstadt, as well as European Romantics. Although influenced by international artistic movements, O’Brien’s work most definitely expressed a sense of Canadian nationalism.

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Lucius Richard O'Brien

Cape Gaspé

20 1/2 x 13 1/2 in, 52.1 x 34.3 cm

watercolour on paper

Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000 CDN

Sold for: $9,775 CDN (premium included)

Fine Canadian Art Spring 2004 on Thursday, May 27, 2004

Lucius Richard O'Brien

The Porch

21 1/4 x 16 1/4 in, 54 x 41.3 cm

gouache and watercolour on paper

Estimate: $2,500 - $3,500 CDN

Sold for: $8,750 CDN (premium included)

Historical Art on Thursday, January 25, 2018

Lucius Richard O'Brien

Boats on the Coast

15 x 30 in, 38.1 x 76.2 cm

oil on canvas

Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000 CDN

Sold for: $8,125 CDN (premium included)

Coast to Coast: Canadian Landscapes on Thursday, June 27, 2019

Lucius Richard O'Brien

Herring Boats, St. Ives Bay

14 x 21 in, 35.6 x 53.3 cm

watercolour on paper

Estimate: $2,500 - $3,500 CDN

Sold for: $6,875 CDN (premium included)

July 2017 - 4th Session on Thursday, July 27, 2017

Lucius Richard O'Brien

Canoe Trip

7 3/8 x 11 7/8 in, 18.7 x 30.2 cm

watercolour on paper

Estimate: $2,500 - $3,500 CDN

Sold for: $6,875 CDN (premium included)

Historical Art on Thursday, January 25, 2018

Lucius Richard O'Brien

Off the Gloucester Coast

14 1/2 x 29 1/2 in, 36.8 x 74.9 cm

oil on canvas

Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000 CDN

Sold for: $6,875 CDN (premium included)

Town & Country on Thursday, February 27, 2020

Lucius Richard O'Brien

Collingwood Harbour

4 3/4 x 10 in, 12.1 x 25.4 cm

ink and watercolour on paper

Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000 CDN

Sold for: $6,250 CDN (premium included)

July 2017 - 1st Session on Thursday, July 27, 2017

Lucius Richard O'Brien

Wreckage

11 1/8 x 18 1/2 in, 28.3 x 47 cm

oil on board

Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000 CDN

Sold for: $5,625 CDN (premium included)

Early Views of Canada on Thursday, July 28, 2022

Lucius Richard O'Brien

Boats Drawn up on the River Bank

14 1/2 x 22 1/2 in, 36.8 x 57.1 cm

watercolour on paper

Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000 CDN

Sold for: $5,175 CDN (premium included)

Fine Canadian and Irish Art Fall 2003 on Friday, November 28, 2003

Lucius Richard O'Brien

Oncoming Storm, Matchedash Bay

10 1/2 x 18 1/4 in, 26.7 x 46.4 cm

oil on board

Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000 CDN

Sold for: $5,000 CDN (premium included)

July 2017 - 1st Session on Thursday, July 27, 2017