Beschreibung:

Paul Henry RHA RUA (1876 - 1958) A Grey Evening, Achill (1917-19) Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 51cm (17.5 x 20'') Signed Original label with title verso Provenance: Private collection, Co. Wexford. DeVere'sale, Dublin, 16th November 1999, Lot 26, reproduced on front cover where purchased by current owner. From a distinguished private collection. Exhibited:The Paul Henry Retrospective The National Gallery of Ireland February - May 2003, Cat No. 58. Literature: ''Paul Henry Retrospective Catalogue'' pg.86, full page illustration pg.87. ''Paul Henry Catalogue Raisonne'' by Dr S. B. Kennedy, pg 199. Catalogue No. 488 as: ''The two-part division of the picture plane in this composition, with the standing figure linking both parts, illustrates the elegance and precision of Paul Henry's compositional technique at its very best. It was a device that Henry first used in about 1910, shortly before he went to Achill Island for the first time, and, in various guises, he regularly employed it thereafter. But the apparent simplicity of approach is deceptive, for it subtly disguises Henry's ability to reduce the essential elements of a composition to a few basic items. The paint, which has been applied as a thin but even, covering of the canvas, is characteristically handled with great deliberation, the forms being modeled succinctly, each brush stroke playing a telling descriptive role. Yet despite the modesty of the composition all has been planned with great care. There is no trace of hesitation, the colours are crisp and clear, the white canvas underneath giving a gentle radiance to the surface, a feature that has been capitalized upon the ripples of the sea in the foreground, where the thin, liquid paint almost literally becomes water. The forceful shape of the curragh, which is juxtaposed with the straight line of the horizon, animates the composition, as does the figure that stoops to pick up a lobster pot. The image of a lobster fisherman is found in a number of Henry's compositions of these years, including his Lobster Pots, West of Ireland, c. 1911-13, which was issued on Monday 30th August 1976 as an Eire 15p postage stamp, to mark the centenary of the artist's birth''. A Dawson Gallery, Dublin label on the reverse gives the title. Also on the reverse is a postage stamp franked 'Preston Lancs. 4/7/66' which seemingly records the picture's return from an unknown exhibition as 'lent by the Dawson Gallery. Dr Brian Kennedy Paul Henry RHA RUA (1876 - 1958) A Grey Evening, Achill (1917-19) Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 51cm (17.5 x 20'') Signed Original label with title verso Provenance: Private collection, Co. Wexford. DeVere'sale, Dublin, 16th November 1999, Lot 26, reproduced on front cover where purchased by current owner. From a distinguished private collection. Exhibited:The Paul Henry Retrospective The National Gallery of Ireland February - May 2003, Cat No. 58. Literature: ''Paul Henry Retrospective Catalogue'' pg.86, full page illustration pg.87. ''Paul Henry Catalogue Raisonne'' by Dr S. B. Kennedy, pg 199. Catalogue No. 488 as: ''The two-part division of the picture plane in this composition, with the standing figure linking both parts, illustrates the elegance and precision of Paul Henry's compositional technique at its very best. It was a device that Henry first used in about 1910, shortly before he went to Achill Island for the first time, and, in various guises, he regularly employed it thereafter. But the apparent simplicity of approach is deceptive, for it subtly disguises Henry's ability to reduce the essential elements of a composition to a few basic items. The paint, which has been applied as a thin but even, covering of the canvas, is characteristically handled with great deliberation, the forms being modeled succinctly, each brush stroke playing a telling descriptive role. Yet despite the modesty of the composition all has been planned with great care. There is no trace of hesitation, the colours are crisp and clear, the whit