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Antique Long Lost AIC Exhibited Michael Augustine Power O'Malley "A Conemara Kitchen" (Catalog No. 154) Oil on Canvas with Period Gold Gilded Frame
Painted in USA Early 1920s.
Canvas Approx. 24" x 30" (61 x 76.2 cm)
Frame Approx. 29" x 35" (73.7 x 88.9 cm)
Exhibited at The Art Institute of Chicago, Thirty-Seventh Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture, October 30 – December 14, 1924 (Catalog entry No. 154 titled "A Conemara Kitchen").
Retains original, highly important Art Institute of Chicago 37th Annual Exhibition intake, registry and jury panel inputs.
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The "386" Number: This is a bold, printed paper label glued to the stretcher bar. This was the entry tracking number assigned to the artwork when it physically arrived at the museum's loading dock.
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The Handwritten "144": Next to the printed sticker, someone wrote 144 in crayon or grease pencil directly onto the paper label. This is a very common practice for museum registrars or jury panels during the selection process.
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The Printed Text Fragment: Look at the small vertical strip of text caught right between the two numbers. It clearly reads: "RESERVE THIS [PART FOR THE] INSTITUTE". This proves the label was an official, multi-part museum receipt. One part was torn off to give to the artist or shipper, and this part remained stuck to the frame for tracking.
This painting is a masterful, highly atmospheric rediscovery from Power O’Malley’s absolute peak creative period.
Painted and exhibited in 1924—the same monumental year O’Malley returned to Ireland and secured first prize for landscape painting at the historic Aonach Tailteann in Dublin—this substantial 24x30-inch canvas represents the pinnacle of his celebrated series of intimate Irish cottage interiors.
Signed ‘Power O'Malley’ lower left.
True to O’Malley’s distinctive mastery of chiaroscuro, the scene relies entirely on a rich, low-light palette.
The composition centers on a traditional open stone hearth, radiating a soft red ember glow that cuts through the deep, warm shadows of the rustic room.
To the left, a traditional red wooden settle bed provides a brilliant pop of color, grounding the quiet, dignity-filled atmosphere of the historic domestic space.
With rock-solid museum provenance physically preserved on the reverse side, this rare, museum-documented piece stands as a significant addition to the known catalog of early 20th-century Irish-American realism.
Born Michael Augustine Power in County Waterford, Ireland, Power O'Malley immigrated to the United States and studied under American masters Walter Shirlaw and Robert Henri at the National Academy of Design. Famed for his empathetic, clear-colored depictions of rural Irish life, his illustrations graced the covers of Life and Harper’s. Today, his paintings are held in prestigious permanent museum collections, including the Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.), the Library of Congress, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
Excellent historical antique condition. The piece remains on its original, unlined canvas and period wooden stretcher bars. Features a beautifully aged, light natural patina. Housed in its original 1920s gilded exhibition frame. Normal wear to frame from age.
