Henry Nelson O'Neil

{"Id":1052,"Name":"Henry Nelson O\u0027Neil","Biography":"Henry Nelson O\u0027Neil was born in St Petersburg, and was primarily a painter of historical genre pictures. He was a member of \u0022The Clique\u0022 based in St John\u0027s Wood.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EO\u0027Neil achieved enormous success with \u003Cu\u003EEastward Ho\u003C/u\u003E in 1857, one of the greatest Pre-Raphaelite pictures. The painting, which exactly caught the public mood, showed troops embarking at Gravesend to reinforce the army at the time of the Indian Mutiny. The picture is highly emotionally-charged, showing the wives, sweethearts, and families, outlined against the great black flank of the ship, about to separate them. The wealth of detail is wonderfully done, and the facial expressions of the distressed women captured with clarity and sympathy. In 1859, the sister painting \u003Cu\u003EHome Again\u003C/u\u003E was also a great and well-deserved success.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIn later years O\u0027Neil did not manage to maintain his artistic career at this level, but still produced excellent paintings, for instance \u003Cu\u003EThe Last Moments of Raphael\u003C/u\u003E in 1876. He became ARA in 1879. Henry O\u0027Neil also wrote poetry and songs, and was a friend of Millais.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ESource: \u003Ca href=\u0022http://www.victorianartinbritain.co.uk/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EVictorian Art in Britain\u003C/a\u003E.\u003Cp\u003E","Awards":null,"HasAlbums":false,"HasPortraits":true,"HasRelationships":false,"HasArticles":false,"HasDepictedPlaces":false,"HasLetters":true,"HasLibraryItems":false,"HasProducts":false,"HasSignatures":false,"HasVideos":false,"HasMapLocations":false,"TotalArtworks":12}