Morgan O'Driscoll Irish & International Art Auction 12th November 2018

I rish & I nternational A rt M onday 12 th N ovember 2018 at 6.00 pm 21 17 Paul Henry RHA RUA (1876-1958) Thatched Cottages (1915-16) signed ‘PAUL HENRY’ lower left oil on board 20.5 x 25.5cm (8 x 10in) Provenance: Bell Gallery, Belfast; Christie’s, Dublin, 29th June 1994, Lot 264, reproduced in colour; Private Collection Exhibited: Possibly 1916 Belfast as ‘Moonlight in the Village’ Literature: S.B. Kennedy: Paul Henry Paintings, Drawings Illustrations, published by Yale, University press; Catalogue No. 418, page 183 illustrated. €20,000-€30,000 (£17,857-£26,785) A small, very directly observed and notably unromanticised view of a grouping of Spartan cottages, thought by SB Kennedy to be on Achill. Certainly Henry had been based on Achill since 1912, and found it an extraordinarily rich source of inspiration. Later, when he had moved on to Dublin and then Wicklow, his Western scenes could be formulaic and idealized, but the earthy realism of this scene rings true.