Biography

Robert Eugene O'Meara was born in 1922. He grew up in Monroe and Madison, and has spent his adult life in the Milwaukee area. Aside from service in World War II, he has lived in Wisconsin his entire life. He currently resides on the east side of Milwaukee.

O’Meara embarked on his artistic journey at a young age and it continues to this day. As a student artist, he was cited for excellence in a national contest whose judges included Norman Rockwell. He won first prize among Madison art students in a contest judged by John Steuart Curry and received the award from the artist in a live radio broadcast.

O’Meara’s paintings are in at least 200 private collections. He participated in many art fairs, including the Bonniwell and was invited to participate in the Lakefront Festival of the Arts but had to decline because of work duties.

He has exhibited at the Hayes Gallery, Dennis Uhlig Gallery, Landmarks Gallery, Cord's Gallery, Sibley Gallery, Sunset Playhouse Gallery and the Oconomowoc Library Gallery.

O'Meara has written and illustrated articles for the Milwaukee Journal and Our Wisconsin Magazine on Wisconsin lighthouses and on national landmarks, Venice, Italy, Baja California, ferry boats and islands. He has also written and illustrated booklets on official Wisconsin landmarks and Art Deco buildings.

Twelve of his watercolors appeared in the Ford Times Magazine. He received premium awards at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Art teachers have cited his published paintings as a way to combine ink and watercolor.He was a prize winner in a contest in 1960 to interpret the resurgence of downtown Milwaukee. The judges included John Colt and the top winners were Joseph Friebert and Leon Travanti.

One of O'Meara's paintings was included in a traveling exhibit of the Mississippi River Parkway Commission.

At the age of 94 he continues to paint and draw, regularly sketching Milwaukee landmarks and busy street intersections.

(Robert O'Meara is a graduate of the UW-Madison School of Journalism and worked for the Associated Press for 39 years)