Early memories; some chapters of autobiography

In this intimate memoir, an Irish painter recounts the winding path that led him from a childhood spent sketching on any scrap of paper to a career that placed him in the bohemian cafés of early‑twentieth‑century New York. He describes a father who, though hoping for a legal profession, quietly supplied endless sheets and encouraged his son’s love of drawing. The early chapters capture the clash between a practical mother’s frugality and a grandfather’s generosity, setting the tone for a life lived in tension between duty and desire.

Later, he settles in a modest French hotel on Manhattan’s 29th Street, where nightly gatherings of painters, writers, and patrons become the backdrop for his relentless sketch‑book practice. He speaks candidly about a lifelong quest for a perfect self‑portrait, a work that remained unfinished as he wrestled with light, colour, and memory. Through letters and recollections, the memoir offers a window into an artist who cherished the present yet could not help comparing it to the vanished faces of those he loved, inviting listeners to share in his quiet wisdom.