Biography

John has lived a very interesting life, thus far. He is an Irish born (Dublin,1943) portrait painter of Austro-Irish parents. His original ambition was to be a concert pianist and composer, and he gave three piano recitals of classical works and his own compositions, in Waterford, Vevey and Tours. However, his friendship with the Irish President De Valera, after leaving school (whom he painted as Chancellor of National University ) led to the president persuading him 'to do one thing, and do it well', which he thought it should be art.
Schwatschke took this advice, and continued to record his paintings meticulously. His painting career was a secondary one to his main study of architecture and subsequent positions in the Middle East where he worked for the Kings banker as a Project Manager on large buildings projects. However, he maintained a studio in Provence (1970 - 79) where he was a neighbour of Pablo Picasso in Mougins, and where Le Musee Schwatschke was later established for the benefits of the village of Valbonne. However government restrictions prevented the project from being completed and it was built instead in Ireland, near artist's home at Carlow (opened 1976 by Austrian Ambassador, closed 1994) .The artist returned to Ireland to look after his elderly parents in their final years, and in 1996 resumed painting full time.
Since them, his caricature works have become very popular on the Irish and London fine art markets. In his formal academic portraiture, the artist has been patronized by President De Valera of Ireland, Ingrid Bergman, Cyril Cusack, Noel Purcell, Prince Philip ( 1979 portrait ), Archbishops Simms and McAdoo of Dublin, Robert Mitchum, Lunias Czechowska (Modiglani 's model) and many others in Europe and the USA. To date, the artist has produced 1450 paintings and bronze sculptures all of which are recorded in archives of Le Musee Schwatschke.