Patrick O’Connor, Wrestler and Artist

There aren't that many people who seriously pursue art and wrestling at the same time, but Patrick O'Connor was one of them. Back in the 1940s, he was heavyweight wrestling champion of Ireland, but also had a Greenwich Village art studio. He was an artist of the "conservative Realist and Romantic school." Apparently he viewed art as his true passion. Wrestling was just a way to make money. From The Evening Independent, Sep. 9, 1944:

His portraits were too realistic. If a rich dowager had three chins, he refused to conveniently omit two of them. As a result there was no rush of customers, so the painter turned to wrestling as a means of earning an honest dollar.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any examples of his art, except for the ones that can be seen behind him in the pictures below. O'Connor is the one with the beard. The pictures were taken in his art studio.

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Posted By: Alex - Wed Jan 02, 2013
Category: Art | Sports | Wrestling | 1940s

Comments

It's hard to wrestle money out of vane old rich people unless you do their bidding.

Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 01/02/13 at 09:53 AM

What could Vince McMahon have done with Mr. O'Connor?

The Undertaker versus The Artist!

Posted by KDP on 01/02/13 at 12:03 PM

I am reminded of Andre the Giant. I met him at a friend's house in Rome, Ga. in the mid seventies when we were in high school. Andre was there to buy paintings. Apparently Andre made a habit of buying paintings of promising students to encourage them to pursue their art.

Posted by Chris Radney on 01/02/13 at 04:42 PM

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