Thames Sunday Morning

Fred O'Neill (1919-1985)

Fred O’Neill was an award-winning New Zealand filmmaker, and a specialist in Claymation and stop-motion.

Determined to make a living from art, he studied at an art school in Sydney after leaving Otago Boys' High. After war service with the RNZAF in the Solomon Islands, he set up his own company, Dunedin Electroplaters, a successful business that provided his livelihood while keeping up his interest in art through his hobby of oil painting.

After buying an 8mm movie camera, O’Neill began to explore the artistic possibilities of the medium. He joined the Otago Cine-Photographic Club, one of many amateur movie clubs thriving in the 1950s and 60s. O’Neill used 8mm film for his first experiments with animation.

The 1967 death of Nancy O’Neill, Fred’s wife and fellow amateur film maker, seems to be the point at which he abandoned film making as his principal hobby. He reverted to oil painting and served as President of the Otago Art Society, and held office in a number of other organisations.

Image Dimensions: 495mm W x 415mm H

Framing: Framed

Framed Dimensions: 590mm W x 495mm H