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Grace Henry-PORTRAIT OF HELEN WADDELL

Currency:EUR Category:Art / General - Paintings Start Price:0.00 EUR Estimated At:600.00 - 800.00 EUR
Grace Henry-PORTRAIT OF HELEN WADDELL

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Auction Date:2012 May 21 @ 18:00 (UTC+1)
Location:Serpentine Hall, RDS, Anglesea Road entrance, Dublin, Dublin, ., Ireland
Grace Henry-PORTRAIT OF HELEN WADDELL

oil on canvas boardsigned lower right
17.75 by 14.25in., 45.085 by 36.195cm.
Orientation of Image: P

Provenance: Lots 109-132 come from the collection of Dr James Cruickshank. A copy of his text Grace Henry, The Person and the Artist, published in association with Jorgensen Fine Art and Designroom, Dublin, 2010, accompanies each of these lots.

Exhibited:

Literature:

Notes: Helen Waddell (1889-1965) was a close friend of the artist and a celebrated scholar and writer. She was educated at Queen's, Belfast, Oxford and Paris, and for a number of years worked for the publishing house of Constable. Waddell was born in Tokyo where her father was a Presbyterian missionary and travelled widely throughout her life. Two depictions of Waddell were shown at a joint exhibition of Paul and Grace Henry's work at the Hugh Lane, Dublin 26 November 1991 (catalogue nos. 17 & 18). Both works were from the collection of a Mollie Martin and had been previously exhibited at the Calmann Gallery, London in 1939 and 'Portraits of Great Men and Women', Ulster Museum, 1965.
Dr. James G. Cruickshank, formerly of the Queen's University of Belfast, is the author of books and articles on Irish geography and is a practising amateur artist. He is a native of Aberdeen, Scotland and has been a passionate collector and researcher of Grace Henry for many years. He was first introduced to her work in the 1970s through Una Whyte of the Magee Gallery, Belfast who established the connection between the two Aberdeen natives both of whom had spent their adult lives in Belfast. Dr Cruickshank's first painting by Grace Henry, a gift from Whyte, was Bringing in the Turf (lot 110) and thus the journey began. Dr Cruickshank has written several papers on the artist. He gave one of the lectures during the 'Paul and Grace Henry exhibition' at the Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane in 1991 and more recently, published Grace Henry - The Person and Artist in association with Jorgensen Fine Art, Dublin in 2010. This collection is testament to his devotion and support for an artist of unique talent and vision.

Born in Peterhead, Aberdeen, as Emily Grace Mitchell, she studied art at the Blanc Garrins Academy, Brussels, and the Delecluse Academy, Paris. She was also a pupil for a while under André L'hote. In Paris she met the Irish painter Paul Henry whom she married in 1903. They settled in England and Grace began exhibiting in London at the RA, the Leicester Galleries, and the Fine Art Society. Along with her artist husband, she sent works to the RHA from 1910 onwards, and two years later they left England for Achill Island, where they spent seven productive years painting the local people and landscape. In 1922 she was represented at the Irish Exhibition in Paris with five works; later she was included in a similar loan exhibition in Brussels in 1930. Both she and Paul were founder members of the Dublin Painters group. They exhibited together at the Stephen's Green Gallery, Dublin, and the Magee Gallery, Belfast. However, the pair were formally separated in 1934. Grace took to travelling and painting in France. Her work was boldly conceived in vibrant colours and decisive brushwork; "her painting", commented the Studio in 1939, was "all poetry". She continued to exhibit both in London and Dublin, notably with the Waddington Galleries and at the RHA. Although never made an Associate, she was elected an Honorary RHA in 1949.
For further reading on the artist see: Cruickshank J.G., Grace Henry - The Person and Artist.