Thomas A. O'Shaughnessy

Who was Thomas A. O'Shaughnessy?

Thomas Augustus "Gus" O'Shaughnessy, an Irish American Celtic Revival designer, who worked in stained glass. He was employed as a Chicago Daily News staff artist. He is best remembered for having created the greatest example of Celtic Revival architectural design in America. He personally executed and installed fifteen stained glass windows at Old St. Patrick's Church at Des Plaines and Adams, in Chicago between 1912 and 1922. He was inspired by the Celtic art exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. The windows include a triptych done with an especially beautiful blend of the Art Nouveau and Celtic Revival styles. According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago History:

thanks to the genius of artist Thomas A. O'Shaughnessy, St. Patrick's was transformed, between 1912 and 1922, into the best-known example of Celtic Revival Art in America. Drawing inspiration from the ninth-century illuminated manuscript known as the Book of Kells, O'Shaughnessy created luminescent stained-glass windows and interlace stencils. Restored to their original beauty in 1996, O'Shaughnessy's designs continue to challenge conventional notions of Irish identity and sacred space.