Adam's Important Irish Art & Irish Historical Documents December 2016 : Click Lot Title for More Info

Patrick Hennessy RHA Cork 1915 - London 1980

Two recent exhibitions of Patrick Hennessy’s work have been held. In ‘The Language of

Dreams, Dreams and the Unconscious in 20th Century Art’, hosted by the Crawford Art Gal-

lery, Cork from October 2015 to February 2016, the Hennessy exhibits served as a mini-cen-

tenary tribute. In Dublin, IMMA, the tribute to Hennessy ‘De Profundis’, March - June 2016 was

a welcome and long overdue event in the establishment of Hennessy as an important and

often overlooked figure, seen by many as an outsider or a purely academic painter without

an obvious Irish or nationalistic style. This current sale of four paintings gives a view of his

varied subjects and talents.

Sometimes Hennessy’s choice of subject bordered on the controversial and perhaps has

been overanalysed to fit into a convenient controversial slot. The danger of this is that it

distracts from the appreciation of what can only be called a fine painting, while attempting to

find hidden detail or emotions that are not evident or don’t exist.

Patrick Hennessy’s vast array of subject matter, painted with confidence and ease, moved

him into the mainstream of successful artists of his era working in Ireland and it started from

the date of his arrival back home from Scotland in 1939. He had a loyal group of patrons

and collectors and never had to compromise to achieve popularity with them. These four

paintings are all different in subject matter, but consistent in demonstrating his very high

technical standard.

Still Life with Champagne Bottle

Oil on canvas, 51 x 71cm (20 x 28’’)

Signed; AR PH120 inscribed verso

Exhibited: ‘Patrick Hennessy Exhibition’, The Victor Waddington Gallery, Dublin, March 1948 Cat. No. 8;

‘Patrick Hennessy Retrospective Exhibition’, Dublin Painter’s Gallery, 1949, Cat. No 18;

‘Patrick Hennessy Exhibition’, David Hendriks Gallery, November 1973, Cat. No.22; later shown at the

Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast (label verso).

This still life by Patrick Hennessy is very close to the onlooker. The subject takes up all the canvas with no back-

ground, just the rough timber table and the objects to be painted. The glass jar is central to the composition. All

the other objects are off-centre to the right - an empty champagne bottle and two bright yellow lemons emerging

from crumpled white wrapping paper. The large scale of the picture creates the need for greater detail. Hennessy

obliges by the lettering on the bottle label, the texture of the lemons and the white paper edges seen through the

glass of the jar and bottle. Perhaps this is just an academic exercise in painting but it adds to the visual pleasure

and feeling that is not always evident in still life painting. It could be argued that the composition in this painting is

not contrived but a natural combination.

Kevin A. Rutledge, November 2016

€ 6,000 - 8,000