‘Almost single-handedly Paul Henry defined a view of the Irish landscape, in particular that of the West, that remains as convincing to modern eyes as it was in his own time.’
Paul Henry first discovered the West of Ireland in 1910 and instantly became captivated by the untouched beauty of the landscape. Henry remained deeply fascinated by the majestic spirit of the countryside throughout his lifetime and constantly returned to this subject. As the leading Irish critic Seán O’Faolain summarises: ‘Always, indeed, painting the same thing; always the one thing – light caught in a flux, a moment’s dazzling miracle.’ (S. O’Faolain, An Irish Portrait, London, 1951, pp. vii-viii)
Henry initially trained at the Belfast School of Art, but in 1898 he left his home to study at the Académie Julian in Paris. It was here that Henry encountered his great love and admiration for the artist James Abbot McNeill Whistler. The artist recalls: ‘The sight of his slim, dapper figure as he came towards me filled me with awe and delight as the sight of no other living artists could have done.’ (Paul Henry, An Irish Portrait, 1951, p. 14) Henry attended evening classes at Whistler’s new art school named the Académie Carmen. Whistler promoted harmonious compositions, united colour palettes and controlled brush handling – all with the notion of ‘arts for arts sake’ in mind. When Henry travelled to the West Coast of Ireland for the first time, he transformed the landscape with his newly trained modern eye.
The present work expounds Whistler’s principles by employing soft blue-grey tones; yet there is also a more spontaneous and lively response seen in the brushwortk denoting the frothing waves of the foreground. The Entrance to Killary Bay is exemplary of Henry’s enthusiastic response to the West of Ireland, a subject that would never cease to inspire him. The present work is making its first public appearance having remind in a family private collection since 1937.