IMPORTANT IRISH ART 25 MAY 2026

44 In his 2007 catalogue raisonne of Paul Henry’s oeuvre, the late Dr SB Kennedy recorded Dapping on Lough Mask, Co. Mayo as catalogue number 708 and its provenance as “whereabouts unknown”1. It was recorded earlier by way of a colour plate in Paul Henry’s autobiography, An Irish Portrait, first published in 1951, one of only twelve illustrations selected for inclusion; eight of which were oil paintings. Decades later, Paul Deane’s article, Paul Henry on Achill Island: Paintings and Drawings published in Éire - Ireland: A Journal of Irish Studies (Volume 24, Issue 1, Spring 1989) also included an illustration of this painting. A vast natural limestone lake, Lough Mask stretches between counties Galway and Mayo, spanning 20,500 acres, and is celebrated for the clarity of its waters and the quality of wild fish it yields; trout in particular. The lake shoreline is varied, with sheltered coves and quieter bays on the northern and eastern shores and exposed limestone shelves to the west.2 Dapping, a specialised fishing technique using a long rod to ‘dance’ a dry fly on the surface of the water, is associated with the months of August and September on Lough Mask, when traditionally live grasshoppers would have been used. Some of the most substantial catches of the season are taken in this late window, with reports of specimens over 4lb recorded.3 Paul Henry’s move to Achill in 1910 was inspired by the writings of John Millington Synge andWilliam Butler Yeats, but other significant texts referenced in his autobiography were equally influential. Newry born W.H. Maxwell’s Wild Sports of the West. With Legendary Tales, and Local Sketches (1832) - a compilation of his letters recounting hunting, fishing and poaching in County Mayo is cited, as well as the writings of American naturalist Henry David Thoreau. A transcendentalist, Thoreau was best known for his book, Walden (1854), a text described as, “...part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and - to some degree - a manual for self-reliance.”4 He advocated for simple living in natural surroundings and in many ways Paul Henry’s years living in a similarly harsh environment in Ireland produced in paint what Thoreau championed in his writings. In his own words Henry writes, “I cannot help thinking that the seeds of my passion for the wilder and more remote parts of Ireland were sown when I first read Thoreau’s Walden very many years before. At any rate here I was living in one of the loneliest parts of Ireland and quite convinced that I was living as near the simple life as it is possible to get.” He continues, “My wanderings through Mayo took me into many outlying areas and it is in these places that one finds a richness of life that is not found in the more sophisticated parts of the country.”5 In the present work Paul Henry observes two figures in their boat, one taking charge of the oars, the other the rod. The latter is slightly bent forward, his capped head down in a practised manner, baiting his line perhaps. The waters are calm, ideal for dapping, and the presence of another vessel in the distance suggests conditions are optimal. Two thirds of the composition is dominated by voluminous clouds, for which Henry is renowned, with a rhythmic mountain range to the centre and rippling waters, vegetation and rocks to the lower right foreground. The palette displays the influence of Whistler in its monochromatic harmonies and as SB Kennedy writes of this period, “By now his palette was consistently lighter in tone than it had previously been… [and] is characterised by a pristine clear light and the colours too, although limited in range, are clean and un- muddied.”6 An Irish Portrait was published in 1951 when the artist was 75 years of age. The year previous he was offered presidency of the RHA (he declined) and he continued in this decade - his final - to submit work for exhibition thus keeping his name before the public even as artistic trends were shifting. His autobiography is an important part of his legacy and its glowing foreword by Seán Ó Faoláin was a shrewd choice in this respect. Similarly, Henry we can assume carefully and very deliberately selected the paintings that would best represent his oeuvre for posterity. Dapping on Lough Mask, Co. Mayo is one of the eight oil paintings Henry chose.7 It is a rare, later example which includes the presence of human activity within the immense natural environment of the west and it exudes a simplicity and timelessness for which the artist has since become associated. Adelle Hughes April 2026 ________________________________________ 1 Kennedy, Dr S.B., Paul Henry: Paintings, Drawings and Illustrations, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2007, p.243 2 https://fishing.ie/venues/lough-mask 3 Ibid. 4 Gura, Philip F., American Transcendentalism: A History, Hill &Wang, New York, 2007 5 Henry, Paul, An Irish Portrait, Bath Press, Avon for Batsford, London, 1988, p.85 6 Kennedy, Dr S.B., Paul Henry, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2000, p.125 7 Whyte’s sold the oil painting which was reproduced on the dustjacket of Henry’s autobiography, An Irish Portrait. A Sunny Day, Connemara, 19 October 2020, lot 18, hammer price €420,000