Whyte's IMPORTANT IRISH ART 6 MARCH 2023 AT 6PM

37 IMPORTANT IRISH ART · 6 MARCH 2023 AT 6PM 26 Grace Henry HRHA (1868-1953) FAIR DAY, CONNEMARA oil on canvas with Peppercanister Gallery label on reverse 16 by 19in. (40.6 by 48.3cm) Frame Size: 24 by 26.5in. (61 by 67.3cm) Provenance: Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin, 2001; Whence purchased by the present owner Exhibired: Peppercanister Group Exhibition, 2001 In 1912 Grace Henry and her husband, the artist Paul Henry, left England and settled in Achill Island where they spent seven productive years painting the local people and landscape. Grace Henry’s body of work from this period demonstrates a keen interest in the inhabitants of the west of Ireland, and the bustling market scene depicted in Fair Day, Connemara is evidence of this. People come and go in different directions, with characters seen in profile, from behind and walking in and out of the composition. There is a dynamism to the canvas which compliments the subject and space is created in the foreground for the viewer to engage with the scene. Particular attention is paid to the figures’ clothing. The men are dressed in dark clothes with a variety of styles of hats - top, bowler and flat cap - on display. However, it is the female figures that inject the canvas with colour and pattern; beginning with the lady in the lower left foreground with her headscarf, tasselled white shawl and full red skirt with black ribbon trim. The artist’s attention to clothing can be seen in several examples of her work such as Claddagh Market, Galway, 1916-18 (Crawford Art Gallery, catalogue no. 2803) andWoman in Train on Way to Market, Glens of Antrim (Collection of Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane, catalogue no. 2146). This tight crowd scene is confined on the right side of the composition by neat haystacks and cottages reminiscent of her husband’s work. Their white wash gable ends pick up the white in the figures’ dress and serve to draw the eye through the composition towards the ochre and blue mountains in the distance. Henry’s brushstrokes are confident and expressive and compliment the energy of a vibrant fair day. Her skills as a draughtswoman can be seen to the right of the composition where her recording of what appears to be a horse and cart are outlined. The raw nature of this oil gives it a spontaneity and adds to the sense of excitement the artist must have felt at capturing such a colourful and dynamic occasion. Adelle Hughes, February 2023 We are grateful to Bryan Murphy of the Peppercanister Gallery for his assistance in cataloguing this work. €10,000-€15,000 (£8,850-£13,270 approx.) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot26