Evening, Achill

Artist Grace Henry (1868 - 1953)

Datec. 1912-19

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions58.5 x 49.5 cm

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery. Purchased, 1995. © The Estate of Grace Henry.

Object number1885

DescriptionIn 1910 Paul and Grace Henry spent a holiday on Achill Island, in the West of Ireland, following the recommendation of a friend, Robert Lynd. They intended to stay for few weeks but they loved the rugged landscape so much that in 1912 they returned and stayed there for seven years. Both artists were much influenced by the dramatic landscape of the area, and while their paintings share some similarities Grace Henry's work reveals a greater use of impasto and textural brushstrokes. Paul also tended to focus on the more abstract qualities of the landscape, while Grace was drawn to the local people going about their work.

However, on a number of occasions, as here, she made a simple tonal study of the landscape. The blue tones of evening unify the landscape, but her use of directional brushstrokes evident in the sky contrasts with Paul's flatter application of paint. The group of cottages in the foreground have an almost animated quality, their curving forms causing them to appear as much a natural part of the landscape as the mountain in the background. The dark evening tones are enlivened by the bright spots of light from the windows and doors spilling across the centre of the image, and in the background by the spot of illumination from the single star in the sky.

(Catalogue Entry [29]: A Century of Irish Painting - Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, 1997, pp. 150-151)

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