Inspired by seventeenth century Dutch genre painters like Johannes Vermeer and Frans Hals, George Bernard O’Neill was a painter drawn to creating quiet works of art. He often painted children at play or friends and families enjoying music together. O’Neill periodically painted portraits and towards the end of his career his subject matter often had a more historical perspective, but he was best known for his domestic scenes. Born in Dublin, Ireland on July 17, 1828, O’Neill was the ninth of fifteen children. In 1837 his family moved to London, where he began studying at the Royal Academy Schools. Ten years later he began exhibiting his paintings regularly at the Royal Academy of Arts.
