Grace Henry HRHA

Grace Henry was born in Kirktown, near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire in February 1868. Her early life was defined by a domestic character, she was educated by a governess then attended a finishing school in London. Henry had her first recorded exhibition in 1896 with the Aberdeen Artist’s Society and continued exhibiting there until 1900, however due to her nomadic lifestyle no paintings from her Scottish period remain. While still exhibiting locally, her artistic confidence increased during her travels, attending the Blanc Garrins Academy in Brussels and the Delecluse Academy in Paris. In 1900, she met fellow artist, Paul Henry and they married in London in September 1903 proceeding to live there for the following years. During this period, her style was particularly influenced by James McNeill Whistler whom she met in Paris through her husband. 

After spending time in Achill, the couple returned to Dublin in 1919. In 1920, they were founding members of the Society of Dublin Painters alongside Letitia Marion Hamilton, Mary Swanzy, and Jack Butler Yeats. Five of Grace’s works were featured at the Irish Exhibition in Paris in 1922, and at a similar exhibition in Brussels in 1930. Whilst in Achill, her work developed a new sense of freedom and expression altering colour, composition, and form. Around 1920, Grace developed a relationship with Stephen Gwynn and soon went travelling with him across France and Italy. During this period, her painting evolved into its most free and loose approach, with dramatic colour used to capture the landscape and reaching a Fauvist style of experimentation. In 1924 she studied with the Cubist painter, Andre Lhote while in Paris. With a shift marked in her artistic style at this point, her personal life was also changing as Grace permanently parted from Paul Henry. She spent several years travelling in the South of France and Italy, although she continued to regularly exhibit at the Royal Hibernian Academy and held solo shows at the Waddington and Dawson galleries.