46
62
Paul Henry RHA (1876-1958)
KEEL VILLAGE, ACHILL ISLAND, 1911
oil on canvas
signed lower left
18 by 20in. (45.72 by 50.80cm)
Provenance:
Private collection;
Adam’s, 28 May 2003, lot 86;
Whence purchased by the present owner
Exhibited:
‘Paintings by Mrs. Frances Baker, Grace Henry, Paul Henry, Casimir Dunin-Markiewicz and George
Russell (AE), Leinster Hall, Dublin, 16-21 October, 1911, catalogue no. 35 or 36
Literature:
Kennedy, S.B.,
Paul Henry, Paintings Drawings Illustrations
, Yale University Press, New Haven &
London, 2007, catalogue no. 342, p.162 (illustrated)
In original Waddington frame.
The form of the signature, with dots between the two words of the artist’s name and after the word Henry,
signify that this composition must have been painted shortly after the artist arrived on Achill Island in
August 1911.The village of Keel, where in his autobiography,
An Irish Portrait
(1951), he tells us he settled, is
seen from the high ground to the north-west, the long and graceful sweep of Trawmore Strand dominating
the middle distance.The scene has been rendered with remarkable economy of means, there being only
moderate impasto, but a great sense of fluidity, in the handling of the paint. As is characteristic of Henry’s
painting at this time the brushwork is rigorously descriptive of form and structure and the use of subtle
blues and greys to emphasise the recession of the landscape is a foretaste of the strong Whistlerian
influence that would soon emerge in his painting.The use of upright brushstrokes, as seen in the near
foreground, is characteristic of other Henry pictures of this time.There is an almost identical, but smaller,
composition of the same title and period to this in the Ulster Museum, Belfast. Nowadays the village of Keel
is larger, although not substantially so, so that the main thrust of the landscape can clearly be seen. Henry’s
excitement at his new-found surroundings is also evident in his rendering of the landscape.
Dr SB Kennedy
February 2013
€
50,000-
€
70,000 (£42,700-£59,800 approx.)
WHYTES
SINCE 1783
,
60
Nano Reid (1900-1981)
SALMON FISHING ON THE BOYNE, c.1950
oil on panel
signed lower left; with exhibition label affixed on reverse 24 by 48in. (61 by 122cm)
Provenance: James Adam & Sons, 29 March 1995, lot 36 as Fishermen; Private collection
Exhib ted: ʻNano Reid and Gerard Dillonʼ, Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, 6 November to 10
January 2009 (loaned by present owner)
Literature: Ed., Coulter, Dr. Riann and NicGhabhann, Niamh, Nano Reid and Gerard Dillon
Curated by Riann Coulter,Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, 2009 (edition of 1,000), p.16-17
(illustrated)
Salmon Fishing on the Boyneis an extremely important work within Nano Reidʼs oeuvre. It
is both a scen of everyday life in mid-century Ireland and a valuable historical record of a
particular time and place. Born in Drogheda in 1905, Nano Reid studied and worked in
Dublin, London and Paris before she eventually settled back in her home town. During the
1950s Reid painted several works inspired by Drogheda including Where the Ships
Unload, Old Town by the Riverand the large mural she painted for her familyʼs pub.That
mural, now in the Drogheda Municipal Collection and on display in the Highlanes Gallery,
is stylistically similar to Salmon Fishing on the Boyne and dates from the same period c.
1950.
Although Salmon Fishing on the Boynewas not intended to be documentary and includes
the Modernist distortions of scale and perspective that were typic l of Reidʼs work in this
period, it still constitutes a valuable record of a traditional way of life. For centuries salmon
fishing was an impor ant source of food and r venue for tho e who liv d along the
Boyne.There were around forteen fishing stations on the river and while it is difficult to
identify the exact location of this scene, it may be an area of the river bank close to the
town centre, which is known as The Ramparts. According to Leo Boyle, Boyne salmon
fishermen had a particular method of working which involved two men. One man stayed
on shore holding a rope attached to the net, while the other rowed out into the river with
the other end of the net. Once the whole net was spread out, the boatman rowed back to
shore and the two men pulled the net to shore, trapping fish as it went.1 In Reidʼs painting
the catch has been hauled in.Two fishermen are inspecting (or mending) the net, while a
third man pulls a rope through the water.Two small row boats are moored nearby and
more can be seen across the river.The chimney-like structures on the far shore resemble
the lime kilns that were a historic feature of this area.
Dr Riann Coulter April 2014
1 Leo Boyle, Salmon Fishing on the Boyne River, A Brief Synopsis of the Boyne River
Salmon Fishery,
, accessed 16/4/2014.
2 Nano Reid interviewed by Martin Dillon, BBC Northern Ireland, 1974.Transcript, Reid
Archive, Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda.
€25,000-€35,000 (£20,660-£28,930 approx.)
