Biography

Mark O'Keeffe is a portrait artist from Dublin. He began drawing portraits in 1998. In his work, he is always careful in attempting to achieve accuracy in his portraits, believing that no detail can be regarded as minor.

Mark achieved his first success in this area in 2000, when the then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, presented one of his portraits to the then U.S. President, Bill Clinton. Subsequently, Bertie Ahern went on to present Mark's work to several more figures, including Pope Benedict XVI and Tony Blair. In 2002, his work was presented by the then Lord Mayor of Dublin, Michael Mulcahy, to the former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. His work has also been received by many other notables, such as Edmund Hillary, Desmond Tutu and Al Gore. Of a portrait that Mark did of Eamon de Valera in 2004, his son, Terry de Valera, wrote that it was 'indeed a very fine representation of the character of my late father and one the very best and finest amateur drawings of my father which I have seen for many, many a year. I shall treasure it as it brings back Father to me in many ways.'

Mark's work has appeared in journals and publications as far away as New Zealand, and has been featured in several galleries and establishments in Dublin, including the Apollo Gallery, the Nora Dunne Gallery, Grogan's Pub and the View Gallery.