72
70 Paul Henry RHA (1876-1958) Cottages, Connemara (1928-35)signed ‘PAUL HENRY’ lower right
oil on canvas
51 x 61cm (20 x 24in)
Provenance:
Collection of Solly Lipsitz, Belfast;
James Adams, Dublin, 8 July 1982, lot 68 reproduced;
Private Collection
Exhibited:
Pictures by Paul Henry, The Studio, Merrion Row, Dublin, August 1928
Literature:
S. B. Kennedy, Paul Henry: with a catalogue of the Paintings, Drawings, Illustrations,
Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2007, p. 242, catalogue number 703
€120,000-180,000 (£104,347-156,521)
When Paul Henry first went to Achill Island, in 1910, it was the people of the island and their way of
life that most interested him. Only from about 1915 did his interests turn to the landscape itself. While
this scene cannot be identified with certainty, it may represent the area known as Maam, which lies at
the extreme north-western tip of Lough Corrib in County Galway (cf. The Muinterone at Maam, Ken-
nedy, 2007, cat. no. 692). The mountains must therefore be the southern hills of the Maumturks, with
Leckavera Mountain dominating the middle distance. Henry often painted in this part of Connemara.
Masterly use has been made of the watery inlet in the foreground (cf. Kinsale, Kennedy, 2007, cat. no.
994). Dated 1928-35 on stylistic grounds.
Dr. S.B Kennedy, November 2016