15
Paul Henry RHA (1876-1958)
Estimate:
€50,000 - €70,000
Sold
€54,000
Live Auction
Irish & International Art Auction
ARTIST
Paul Henry RHA (1876-1958)
Size
15 by 18in. (38.1 by 45.7cm)
Description
Title: THE BOG ROAD, c.1917-23
Note: As was common practice for Paul Henry, The Bog Road was almost certainly painted from drawings made earlier in his career. It is impossible to say where the scene is, but it is most likely to be Connemara, although in 1919 Henry painted a number of pictures similar to this one of boglands in County Antrim, where he had thought of settling at the time. These Antrim pictures—An Antrim Bog, Western Skies and The Bog Cutting (Kennedy, 2007, numbers 525, 526 and 528 respectively) are typical—however, share a number of characteristics with The Bog Road: they are all painted on a coarse grained canvas; they have the same massing of heavy rain clouds; in each case the landscape is confined to the lower part of the picture plane; the brushwork, range of colours and overall treatment are also similar. As often with Henry, the menacing weather, which threatens to overpower the scene, is the real subject matter in The Bog Road, and this sets the mood of the scene. By comparison, the landscape itself seems almost superfluous. Dated c.1917-23 on stylistic grounds, the form of the signature with its tell-tale dots, suggests a date closer to 1917-19.Dr. S.B. KennedyAlso with this lot is the original catalogue for the Oriel Gallery exhibition.
Note: As was common practice for Paul Henry, The Bog Road was almost certainly painted from drawings made earlier in his career. It is impossible to say where the scene is, but it is most likely to be Connemara, although in 1919 Henry painted a number of pictures similar to this one of boglands in County Antrim, where he had thought of settling at the time. These Antrim pictures—An Antrim Bog, Western Skies and The Bog Cutting (Kennedy, 2007, numbers 525, 526 and 528 respectively) are typical—however, share a number of characteristics with The Bog Road: they are all painted on a coarse grained canvas; they have the same massing of heavy rain clouds; in each case the landscape is confined to the lower part of the picture plane; the brushwork, range of colours and overall treatment are also similar. As often with Henry, the menacing weather, which threatens to overpower the scene, is the real subject matter in The Bog Road, and this sets the mood of the scene. By comparison, the landscape itself seems almost superfluous. Dated c.1917-23 on stylistic grounds, the form of the signature with its tell-tale dots, suggests a date closer to 1917-19.Dr. S.B. KennedyAlso with this lot is the original catalogue for the Oriel Gallery exhibition.
Medium
oil on canvas
Signature
signed lower left; with Combridge Gallery framing label on reverse
Provenance
The artist's studio until 1957; Adam's, 28 September 1989, lot 181, as An Old Bog Road;Acquired by the Oriel Gallery, Dublin; Where purchased by the previous owner;Whyte's, 29 November 2010, lot 62;Whence purchased by the present owner
Literature
Kennedy, S.B., Paul Henry: with a Catalogue of the Paintings, Drawings, Illustrations, catalogue no. 496, p. 201 (illustrated)
Exhibited
'New Pictures by Paul Henry', Combridge Gallery, Dublin from 8 April 1940, catalogue no. 13; 'Paul Henry & Frank McKelvey,' The Oriel Gallery, Dublin, 11 December to 26 January, 1991, catalogue no. 29 (illustrated p. 22)
