IMPORTANT IRISH ART 3 MARCH 2025

38 22 Paul Henry RHA (1876-1958) COTTAGES, CONNEMARA oil on board signed lower right; bearing James Magee label on reverse 13 by 16in. (33 by 40.6cm) Frame Size: 20.5 by 23.75in. (52.1 by 60.3cm) Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist and thence by descent; de Veres, 23 November 2021, Dublin, lot 37; Private collection The harsh reality of life in the west of Ireland during the era in which Paul Henry was painting can be felt to great effect in Cottages, Connemara. Here, the changeable nature of Irish weather, particularly on the Atlantic coast, is captured in a dramatic burst of storm clouds gathering atop the distant mountains which dominate more than half of the picture plane. Their looming presence towers over the diminutive cottages and haystacks that appear to lie perilously close to the edge of a rocky precipice. The large angular rocks positioned in the lower left foreground add to the intensity of the composition. These, coupled with the skyscape above, present an image of a vulnerable existence teetering on the brink when confronted with the overwhelming power of the natural world which surrounds them. Paul Henry would have been more than familiar with the hardship of life in the west having lived for a number of years in Achill with his first wife, the artist Grace Henry, from 1910. In this painting Henry offers some relief from the ominous weather with a deftly placed break in the clouds left of centre; a device which also creates more depth in the composition. A shaft of light also breaks through, hitting the whitewashed exterior of the homes and the rock-strewn land around them. The original owner of Cottages, Connemara - a friend of both Paul and Grace Henry - acquired it, along with a number of other pictures, directly from the artist. €80,000-€120,000 (£66,670-£100,000 approx.) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot22