John O’Reilly and James Tellin, a tribute to the lives of two artists &the 1168 Grafton Portfolio
I met the artists John O’Reilly (1930-2021) and his husband, James Tellin, in 1991. John O’Reilly became a dear friend and someone who I would talk to about my work and life as a struggling artist. I had great admiration for O’Reilly’s work and started photographing him soon after meeting him. I was compelled because I felt I was witnessing a great artist at work. As a photographer, I had to photograph him. I started photographing his life with his husband, and it grew into a larger project documenting his house, studio and many of the significant objects in their lives. As our friendship grew there was a back and forth between the two of us in terms of ideas and support which helped carry me through when I needed it. O’Reilly modeled for my artwork many times and he used my photographs in his montages.
In 2016, when an opportunity arose for O’Reilly and Tellin to move to a retirement community, the decision was made to sell 1168 Grafton St. The two had lived in the house for many years. It was at this point that Stephen DiRado, Bill Jacobson and I discussed we all had been photographing there. The idea was hatched to make a portfolio of prints that contained works about the house as seen from three different points of view.
My contributions to the portfolio are below along with a selection of other significant photographs taken of John O’Reilly and Jim Tellin taken over the last 30 years.
