3. Top of the Hill by Grace Henry, Limerick Gallery of Art
Famous Paintings and Their Hidden Histories: Spring Lecture Series
Top of the Hill by Grace Henry, Limerick Gallery of Art
Grace Mitchell met Paul Henry in Paris in 1900 when they were both students at Academie Julian. They married in London shortly afterwards and lived in Surrey for several years. From there moved to Achill in 1910. Paul was immediately captivated by it but while Grace responded sympathetically to the people who lived and worked here, the romanticised landscapes of windswept skies and thatched cottages were not for her. Instead her painting shows an a more contemporary awareness of life in this very remote part of Ireland, by depicting everyday social scenes.
In Top of the Hill, the women appear unburdened for a few moments, as work is suspended to enjoy this chance meeting to chat or gossip in peace.
The bright reds and yellows of the beautiful Achill shawl, use of broad brushstrokes, heavy outlines and impasto paint as well as modern design techniques shows a more radical approach to painting than that of her famous husband.
Grace plays with perspective and designs it so that the three figures occupy the upper part of the composition. This means the viewer is naturally encouraged to look upward and follow the incline of the slope towards the gathering at the top of the top the hill. The work also shows the influence of the Japanese prints she encountered in Paris, in its simplified, flattened and outlined forms.
Grace and Paul Henry regularly exhibited together and yet over the years she was overshadowed and even now her more avant garde work is often overlooked.
Top of the Hill by Grace Henry, Limerick Gallery of Art
Grace Mitchell met Paul Henry in Paris in 1900 when they were both students at Academie Julian. They married in London shortly afterwards and lived in Surrey for several years. From there moved to Achill in 1910. Paul was immediately captivated by it but while Grace responded sympathetically to the people who lived and worked here, the romanticised landscapes of windswept skies and thatched cottages were not for her. Instead her painting shows an a more contemporary awareness of life in this very remote part of Ireland, by depicting everyday social scenes.
In Top of the Hill, the women appear unburdened for a few moments, as work is suspended to enjoy this chance meeting to chat or gossip in peace.
The bright reds and yellows of the beautiful Achill shawl, use of broad brushstrokes, heavy outlines and impasto paint as well as modern design techniques shows a more radical approach to painting than that of her famous husband.
Grace plays with perspective and designs it so that the three figures occupy the upper part of the composition. This means the viewer is naturally encouraged to look upward and follow the incline of the slope towards the gathering at the top of the top the hill. The work also shows the influence of the Japanese prints she encountered in Paris, in its simplified, flattened and outlined forms.
Grace and Paul Henry regularly exhibited together and yet over the years she was overshadowed and even now her more avant garde work is often overlooked.
Triskel Arts Centre is proud to announce its association with The F-Rating initiative. Developed in the Bath Film Festival in 2014, the F-Rating is a new film rating which will highlight those with a strong female voice.