Desmond O'Hagan Bio

Desmond O'Hagan Bio

Desmond O'Hagan was born in Wiesbaden Germany, and was raised in the United States.  He enjoys working in several media, but his primary focus is in pastels and oils.  Constantly challenging himself has translated into a a fulfilling career in fine art encompassing several one-man shows and participation in group exhibitions in the United States, Japan, China, Canada, and France.


O'Hagan has achieved "Eminent Pastelist" status with the International Association of Pastel Societies and is a member of their "Masters Circle".  He is also a "Master Pastelist" with the Pastel Society of America and is listed in "Who's Who in American Art".  O'Hagan has won multiple awards in national and international exhibits including IAPS "Prix de Pastel" and Southwest Arts magazine's "Award of Excellence" (twice).  He has also won the "George Innes, Jr. Memorial Award" from the Salmagundi Club in New York City.


O'Hagan was invited to exhibit and conduct workshops and seminars at the "2nd Biennial China International Pastel Exhibition in Suzhou, China in 2016.  In December of 2016, F&W Media released four new instructional videos by O'Hagan: two instructing in pastel painting, and two instructing in oil painting.  In 2018, four additional instructing videos were released titled "Decoding Degas".  In these videos, O'Hagan explores the centuries old practice of copying a master artist from history.


His paintings have been the subject of feature articles in numerous national and international magazines including " American Art Collector", "Southwest Art", " The Artist Magazine", United Airline's "Hemispheres", "Artists and Illustrators" (England), "International Artist (Australia), and "Gekkan Bijyutsu" (Japan).  He is also represented in five books. 


O'Hagan's are is in public and private collections, and museums in the United States, Europe, Canada and China.  These include the Denver Public Library, The Robert and Judi Newman Collection, The Museum of Pastel Art (Suzhou, China), The Loveland Museum (Loveland Colorado), The Museum of St. Aulaye (France)  The U.S. Marine Corp. (Denver, Colorado), and Ballard Spahr LLP (Denver, Colorado).  He teaches workshops nationally and internationally and is represented in galleries in  Denver, Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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