46
62
Paul Henry
KEEL VILLAGE,
oil on canvas
signed lower le
18 by 20in. (45.
Provenance:
Private collecti
Adam’s, 28 May
Whence purcha
Exhibited:
‘Paintings by M
Russell (AE), Lei
Literature:
Kennedy, S.B.,
P
London, 2007, c
In original Waddi
The form of the si
signify that this c
August 1911.The
seen from the hig
the middle distan
moderate impast
painting at this ti
blues and greys t
influence that wo
foreground, is ch
composition of t
is larger, althoug
excitement at his
Dr SB Kennedy
February 2013
!
50,000-
!
70,0
WHYTES
SINCE 1783
,
Lot 18
Paul Henry RHA (1876-1958)
AN ACHILL BOG, c. 1928-1930
oil on canvas signed lower right; titled in another hand in pencil on stretcher verso; with
Dawson Gallery framing label also on reverse 11.50 by 13.50in. (29.21 by 34.29cm)
Provenance: Given as a wedding present to the previous ownerʼs parents, 1936; Thence
by descent; Adams, 30 March 1994, lot 24; de Vereʻs, 20 November 2001, lot 243; Private
collection
Literature: Kennedy, S.B., Paul Henry, Paintings Drawings Illustrations, Yale University
Press, New Haven & London, 2007, p. 240, catalogue no. 688 (reproduced)
One cannot know for sure where the setting for this scene may be, but despite the title it
must be in Connemara. As is well known, Henry lived on Achill Island from 1910 until
1919, when he moved to Dublin. But from 1917 he was employed as a Paymaster for the
Congested Districts Board, his autobiography, An Irish Portrait , London, 1951, pp. 83-4,
noting his work here. His duties for the Board were not onerous, but they allowed him to
travel more widely than hitherto so that increasingly he drew upon the areas around
Ballycroy, Bangor Erris and Pollatomish in north County Mayo for his subject matter. His
practice thereafter was to make sketches as he journeyed and these he used later for
compositions. His handling of this picture is characteristic of his work in the late 1920s,
although the overall tonal key is brighter than many of his works from that time. In the sky
the paint has been fairly evenly applied to the canvas, with little overpainting or other
changes, while on the distant mountain there is more impasto and a clear direction of the
fall of light.The middle distance is similarly treated. But the foreground, with its warm
tones, heavier impasto, briskly executed brushwork and the upward thrust of the turfstacks
which link the foreground with the middle distance, shows the exuberance of Henry at the
height of his powers.
There is a label on the reverse of the Dawson Gallery, Dublin, as the framer. The title is
written in pencil on the back of the stretcher, but in whose hand is unknown. Dated
1928-30 on stylistic grounds. Dr S. B. Kennedy September 2013
€30,000-€40,000 (£25,640-£34,190 approx.)
