GRACE HENRY HRHA (1868 - 1953)

Title: Sailing Boats, Chioggia, Venice (C. 1930s) Medium: Oil on Canvas Signature: Signed Lower Right Provenance: Private Collection Framed In Sailing Boats at Chioggia Grace Henry captures the colour and animation of sailing vessels plying the waters of the Venetian lagoons. Employing an almost Expressionist technique, she exploits the texture and fluidity of oil paint, to create a vibrant and confident work of art. The boat depicted are not yachts, but fishing boats, some with patchwork sails, and a square-rigged sailing ship. The setting is Chioggia, a fishing port at the southern end of the Venetian lagoon, which Henry visited in the 1920’s and 30’s with her lover, the writer and parliamentarian Stephen Gwynn. Born and raised in Peterhead, Aberdeen, after the death of her father, Emily Grace Mitchell (better known as Grace Henry) studied art at the Blanc Garrins Academy in Brussels and at the Delecluse Academy in Paris. She also studied with Andre Lhote. While her still-lives, figures, portraits and landscapes are accomplished essays in colour and the expressive use of paint, Henry’s landscapes reveal a tendency towards introspection. After spending several years on Achill Island with her husband Paul Henry, where they had settled in 1910, she preferred to return to the companionability of the Dublin art world. Henry eventually separated from her husband, to pursue an independent career. In the 1930’s she travelled extensively on the Continent, painting in a loose Fauvist style. She returned to Dublin in 1939, frequently travelling and working in the West of Ireland. In 1949, she was elected HRHA, and also exhibited in Dublin with the Victor Waddington and Dawson Galleries. A joint retrospective of the work of Paul and Grace Henry was held at the Hugh Lane Gallery in 1991. Dr. Peter Murray, August 2025 Image: 43.5 x 52.5 cm. Framed: 70 x 79 cm. PICTURES AND PRINTS Tuesday 16th September 2025 18:11:40 Biography GRACE HENRY HRHA (1868 - 1953) Born in Aberdeen, Grace Henry received her early artistic training at the Blanc Garrins Academy in Brussels and later at the Académie Delecluse in Paris. In 1903, she married the notable Irish painter Paul Henry. Grace exhibited her work at the Royal Academy in London, as well as at the Leicester Galleries and the Fine Art Society. In 1922, she participated in the Irish Exhibition in Paris, presenting five works. In 1930, she and Paul Henry were among the founding members of the Dublin Painters group. Following their separation in 1934, Grace relocated to France to dedicate herself more fully to her painting.