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Books

Livro d’Ouro has published two books of watercolours and drawings by John O’Connor, the first about the Douro wine region, in 2001 and the second about Lisbon, in 2004. These books were subsequently published by Editorial Notícias under different titles. Another book on Portuguese themes is in project, about the Alentejo region.

RETRATO DO DOURO – PORTRAIT OF THE DOURO

Retrato do Douro - Portrait of the Douro

Author's Edition - Price: € 90

Watercolours and drawings by John O’Connor complemented by texts from Portuguese authors selected by Maria do Carmo Paço d’Arcos. Bilingual edition (Portuguese/English).

Art book 24 x 30 cms, 170 pages, hard cover with illustrated dust-jacket, printed on Stockwell paper 160 grs. Publisher: Livro d’Ouro. Limited numbered edition of 600 copies. Year of edition: 2001.

Additional Information:

DOURO, PATRIMÓNIO DA HUMANIDADE – THE DOURO, WORLD HERITAGE

Douro, Património da Humanidade - The Douro, World Heritage

Second Edition - Price: € 42,50

Second edition, 150 pages, printed on Couché Matte paper 170 grs. Publisher: Editorial Notícias. Year of edition: 2001.

Introduction

This book is composed of a selection of watercolours and drawings made in the Douro in the last two years. They are accompanied by excerpts from the works of Portuguese authors – Miguel Torga, Teixeira de Pascoais, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Aquilino Ribeiro, Raul Brandão, amongst others – associated with the region. It should be noted that the images are not illustrations of the texts nor the texts explanations of the images. They are of course all linked by a common theme – the Douro, but with few exceptions they work independently in a complementary relationship. They act together, to use a musical analogy, as the two instruments in a double sonata, creating their own harmonies and dissonances, their movements governed by the river itself.

Art book 24 x 30 cms, 170 pages, hard cover with illustrated dust-jacket, printed on Stockwell paper 160 grs. Publisher: Livro d’Ouro. Limited numbered edition of 600 copies. Year of edition: 2001

Inside Pages

Dawn, Watercolour, 170 x 230 mm
Dawn, Watercolour, 170 x 230 mm

Join the land of wine, young gods!
Join, for the must gives rise
To gods’ and peoples’ smiles
When truth glares upon their faces.

Olympus was wherever sea and mountains dwelled.
Where the flower of grief scented the air.
Where cupped hands took freshness
From springs that tasted like fire.

Join, beloved lords of youth!
For here you find virtue’s laurel,
The olive tree of peace and the wild lilly...

And oaks, and aged chestnut trees,
Beneath whose shade a heavenly sleep
Can turn your dreams to living truth.

Miguel Torga

Sunrise over the bridge at Pinhão, Watercolour, 280 x 370 mm
Sunrise over the bridge at Pinhão, Watercolour, 280 x 370 mm

What is this intimacy between myself and dawn?
What bond attaches darkness to bright light

Teixeira de Pascoaes

Sunrise, Watercolour, 370 x 570 mm
Sunrise, Watercolour, 370 x 570 mm

The Douro is a hothouse. And inside it the vine is a demanding flower. It yields a drop of wine in exchange of sweat or even life. He who drinks that last drop of nectar from the bottom of a crystal glass is celebrating a sacrifice.

João de Araújo Correia

PERFIL DE LISBOA – LISBON IN PROFILE

Perfil de Lisboa - Lisbon in Profile

Author's Edition - Price: € 90

Watercolours and drawings by John O’Connor complemented by texts from Portuguese authors selected by Maria do Carmo Paço d’Arcos. Bilingual edition (Portuguese/English).

Art book 24 x 30 cms, 150 pages, hard cover, illustrated dust-jacket and slip-case, printed on Stockwell paper 160 grs. Publisher: Livro d’Ouro. Limited edition of 400 copies, numbered and signed by the artist. Year of edition: 2004.

Additional Information:

RETRATO DE LISBOA – PORTRAIT OF LISBON

Retrato de Lisboa - Portrait of Lisbon

Price: € 45

Publisher: Editorial Notícias, printed on Couché Matte paper 170 grs. Year of edition: 2004.

Introduction - by Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles

The author of Lisbon in Profile lets us be carried away by the spell of enchantment the city casts and has depicted the smallest details and views which continually appear to the really dedicated explorer.

This beautiful book by O’Connor forms a valuable contribution to the fund of books on Lisbon because it directs attention to the precious heritage of the city as a treasure of all mankind.

Art book 24 x 30 cms, 150 pages, hard cover, illustrated dust-jacket and slip-case, printed on Stockwell paper 160 grs. Publisher: Livro d’Ouro. Limited edition of 400 copies, numbered and signed by the artist. Year of edition: 2004.

Inside Pages

Ferry on the Tagus, Watercolour, 250 x 360 mm
Ferry on the Tagus, Watercolour, 250 x 360 mm

I say ‘Lisbon’
When I arrive from the south and cross the river
And the city opens up as if born from its name
It opens and rises in its nocturnal vastness
In its long shimmering of blue and of river
In its rugged body of hills –
I see it better because I say it
Everything is more clearly where it is
Everything shows more clearly what it lacks
Because I say
Lisbon with its name of being and nonbeing
With its meanders of astonishment insomnia and shacks
And its secret theatre sparkle
Its masklike smile of intrigue and complicity
While the wide sea stretches westward
Lisbon swaying like a sailing ship
Lisbon cruelly built next to its own absence
I say the city’s name
I say it to see

Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen

Sailing ship on the Tagus, Watercolour, 340 x 260 mm
Sailing ship on the Tagus,
Watercolour, 340 x 260 mm

Lisbon emerges, white

Lisbon emerges, white, next to the Tagus blue;
Lisbon of the early ships,
Of ivory built, over hills of gold.
See how the wide estuary (is it dream or reality?)
Beneath divine Azure bursts into a thousand wings!
It’s a host of seagulls that hover and alight on the waves,
As sky and golden sun and water blend together
In chimeric hues!

Teixeira de Pascoaes

Stairway of Bica, Pen and ink and wash, 230 x 90 mm
Stairway of Bica,
Pen and ink and wash,
230 x 90 mm

The beggar

He crossed by me and approached me in a street in Baixa,
A badly dressed creature, a professional beggar one could see,
Who took a fancy for me and I for him;
And reciprocally, with overflowing largesse, I gave him all I had
(With the exception, of course, of what I carried in my money pocket:
I am no fool nor Russian novelist, eager,
Yes for romanticism, indeed, but let’s not hurry....).

Fernando Pessoa

The Beggar

About the Authors

John O'Connor

John O’Connor was born in London. He studied at the Chelsea School of Art where he was awarded two drawing prizes and graduated with a first class honours degree in Fine Art. This was followed by two years of postgraduate study at the Slade School. His work is represented in various private and public collections in Portugal and England including the Selecções do Reader’s Digest, Grupo Pestana, Hotel da Lapa, Museu da Cidade de Lisboa, Câmara Municipal de Sintra, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the private collection of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales.

Maria do Carmo Paço d'Arcos

Maria do Carmo Paço d’Arcos was born in Lisbon into a family of celebrated literary tradition. She has worked in film production for many years. Recently, she has been translating English poets and organising art exhibitions.

How to Order

Please contact info@livrodouro.com for more details.