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Patrick Hennessy RHA (1915-1980) CONNEMARA PONIES signed lower left; inscribed with studio no. PH...

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Patrick Hennessy RHA (1915-1980) CONNEMARA PONIES signed lower left; inscribed with studio no. PH...
Patrick Hennessy RHA (1915-1980)
CONNEMARA PONIES
signed lower left; inscribed with studio no. PH. 529 on reverse
oil on canvas
102 by 127cm., 40 by 50in.
Provenance:
Studio Sale, Christie’s, London, 10 July 1986
Hennessy frequently included horses in his landscape paintings, depicting them
sympathetically and with an almost photographic degree of realism. Many of his
Moroccan works feature Arab ponies, whilst in France he painted the noble horses
of the Camargue. In works such as The Eve of the Moon Landing (illustrated,
David Hendriks Gallery catalogue, November 1969), the horse seems to stand in
for the mysterious beauty of all earthly creatures. Whilst in Ireland, Hennessy
had ample opportunity to study the animals closely, for he counted among his
friends many horse breeders and owners including Major Stephen Vernon, from Co.
Limerick, who bred horses for the Duke of Westminster. The pair of ponies
depicted in the present work belonged to family friends of Hennessy’s and
feature in at least two other works: Connemara Summer (sold through James Adam
Salerooms, May 1987, lot 49), and The Mountain Road (PH 127, sold through the
Guildhall Galleries, Chicago, circa 1966).
(With thanks to Kevin Rutledge for his help in cataloguing this work).
€20,000-€30,000 (£13,400-£20,100 sterling approx.)