James O'Shea
Born 3 February 1824
Died 1882 (Circa)
Active: 1853 - 1882
Country of birth and death: Ireland
Stonemason, sculptor
PLEASE NOTE: THIS BIOGRAPHY IS BEING REVISED.
Born in Ballyhooly, County Cork. He was the son of Daniel O'Shea and Eliza Spellane, and the younger brother of the carver John O'Shea. Between 1840 and 1852, the architect Sir Thomas Deane made a number of designs for buildings in Ballyhooly and Castletownroche for the earl of Listowell. It is likely that the O'Shea brothers started working for Deane in this period, and the architect may have sponsored their studies at the Cork School of Design.
In 1853 the architects, Thomas Newenham Deane and Benjamin Woodward employed the O'Sheas and Whelan to work on the Museum at Trinity College, Dublin.
Five years later Benjamin Woodward brought the O'Sheas and Whelan over from Ireland to work on the Museum of Natural History in Oxford. Between 1858-61 they executed a series of elaborate carvings of animals and plant forms based on live specimens provided by the University's Botanic Garden. Funds for the carving and decoration of the museum came from donations, and some of the original plans had to be modified because insufficient subscriptions were raised. James O'Shea was responsible for most of the carving on the exterior of the Museum, and finished work in June 1861. John O'Shea and Edward Whelan focused on the capitals, corbels and piers in the Lower Court of the Museum. John O'Shea was paid off on 12 May 1860, and Whelan completed his contribution in October 1861. In 1879 James O'Shea was brought back to Oxford to carve the capitals on the inner porch.
For over a hundred years, a local legend about James O'Shea's work on the Oxford Museum was accepted as true because it was included in a publication by Henry Acland of 1893. According to this now discredited story, in 1859 James O’Shea began carving monkeys around one of the museum windows. He was told to stop because monkeys might be seen as a reference to Darwinism and that could cause embarrassment for the university authorities. James O'Shea was allegedly so upset by this decision that he carved a series of parrots and owls to mock members of the university, and this led to him being sacked. In 2009 Blair J. Gilbert published an article entitled 'Puncturing an Oxford Myth: the Truth about the ‘Infamous’ O’Sheas and the Oxford University Museum' (full reference below) which effectively disproved this colourful tale.
Between 1859-64 the O'Sheas and Whelan collaborated with the sculptor Thomas Woolner (who had created two statues for the Natural History Museum in Oxford and some exterior carvings) on the Manchester Assize Courts under the architect, Alfred Waterhouse. During this time, Woolner commissioned James to carve corbels and other details for his new studio in London (1861). That year the O'Sheas were employed by Deane and Woodward at the Kildare Street Club in Dublin.
This entry contains information from Frederick O'Dwyer, 'O'Shea Brothers, Sculptors' in P. Murphy (ed.), 'Art, Architecture of Ireland, Volume III Sculpture 1600-2000', Royal Irish Academy /Yale University Press, 2014, pp. 282-4, and 'The architecture of Deane and Woodward', Cork, 1997, and from Andrew Tierney's articles published on the 'Making Victorian Dublin' website see https://makingvictoriandublin.com/sculpture/o-shea-brothers/ and https://makingvictoriandublin.com/sculpture/the-museum-building/ (both accessed 20 September 2022), and also from Blair J. Gilbert 'Puncturing an Oxford Myth: the Truth about the ‘Infamous’ O’Sheas and the Oxford University Museum', Oxoniensia, Vol 74, 2009, (c) Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society https://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/2009/gilbert.pdf (accessed 20 September 2022).
Locations
Address 41 Wellington Street St. Thomas Oxford England | View on map
1861
Address 7 Irk or Ink Passage Manchester England | View on map
1881
Worked at Oxford Museum of Natural History Oxford England | View on map
1858 - 1861
Executed a series of elaborate carvings of animals and plant forms for the interior and exterior of the building. In 1879 James O'Shea was brought back to Oxford to carve the capitals on the inner porch.
Personal and Professional Connections
Aunt/uncle of Edward Whelan
Brother/sibling of John O'Shea
Partner to Edward Whelan
They worked together on a number of commissions, including the Museum Building at Trinity College, Dublin and the Museum of Natural History in Oxford.
Partner to John O'Shea
They worked together on a number of commissions, including the Museum Building at Trinity College, Dublin and the Museum of Natural History in Oxford.
Descriptions of Practice
Listed in Ireland, Poor Law and Board of Guardian Records, 1839-1920
23 February 1882 - 3 March
His occupation was given as 'Sculptor' but his condition on admission on 23 February 1882 was 'Tramp', and his address was 'Union Manchester' i.e. the workhouse. O'Shea was discharged on 3 March
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
'Stone Carver (Unemp[loyed])'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
James O'Shea was not at home, but his wife, Elizabeth O'Shea (born c.1827, Ireland) was listed as 'Sculptures (sic) Wife'
Sources
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
2005
RG09 896 65 34 199
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
2004
RG11; Piece: 3991; Folio: 107; Page: 50; GSU roll: 1341953
Ireland, Poor Law and Board of Guardian Records, 1839-1920
2020
Name: James OShea
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Admission Age: 56
Birth Date: Abt 1826
Admission Date: 23 Feb 1882
Admission Place: Ireland
Admission Poor Law Union: South Dublin
Discharge Date: 3 Mar 1882
Discharge Poor Law Union: South Dublin
Oxford Natural History Museum: the stonework of the Museum
2008
Thomas Woolner: Sculptor and Poet, his Life in Letters
1917
p. 213
Victorian Sculpture
1982
pp. 235-7
Citing this record
'James O'Shea', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=ann_1295116018, accessed 22 Sep 2023]
