GEORGE HENRY RA RSA RSW (SCOTTISH 1858 - 1943)
PORTRAIT OF MRS J H M KIRKWOOD

oil on canvas, signed and dated 1909
framed

image size 126cm x 101cm, overall size 148cm x 122cm

Provenance: Sotheby's, Gleneagles Hotel, 'Scottish and Sporting Pictures', 29 August 2007, lot 82. £7500 Hammer
Note 1: Painted in 1909, a period when the so-called Glasgow Boys (Lavery, Henry and Walton) had moved into the lucrative portrait business painting in London. Henry painted from his studio at Glebe Place, Chelsea. During this time he exhibited in several places with examples of this genre. These include “The Poinsettia” (1904), “The Blue Gown” (1906) both exhibited at the Glasgow Institute of Fine arts, “Ready for the Theatre” (1905) and "The Tortoiseshell Mirror" (Paisley Museum & Art Gallery). Many of the works of this period show the strong influence of the works of Whistler. McTear's sold “The Locket” (1907) in August 2024 for £8000 hammer.
Note 2: Ninety-six of George Henry's paintings are held in UK public collections including at Glasgow Museums, Kelvingrove, The Hunterian, The Laing, The Guildhall Art Gallery (London), Kirkcaldy Galleries, Manchester Art Gallery, The National Galleries of Scotland and The City Art Centre (Edinburgh) and numerous others in National collections outside the UK. His fabulous work of an elegant Edwardian “The Black Hat” (1910) is considered to be one of his finest works in the genre and was most recently exhibited to the public in "Modern Britain 1900 - 1960 Masterworks from Australian and New Zealand Collections" a major exhibition organised by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (15th November 2007 - 24th February 2008).
Note 3: A leading member of the Glasgow School (Glasgow Boys), the most progressive artists in Britain during the latter part of the 19th c., George Henry moved to 26 Glebe Place, Chelsea (London) and established a hugely successful society portrait practice. He showed annually at the Royal Academy from 1904. Aside from formal figure work, he produced a number of elegant exhibition pieces around this time which were, in part, influenced by his lengthy visit to Japan with E. A. Hornel 1893-94.