From the time of his first trip to Ireland in 1913 and his last trip in
1928, American artist Robert Henri created masterful paintings of the
Irish landscape and people, particularly children. These engaging
paintings offer a fascinating window onto the genre about which Henri
felt most strongly--portraiture--and also serve as a way to chart his
experiments with paint handling and color theories. In Ireland, he was
able to focus on his painting without the distractions of life in New
York. The periods Henri spent in Ireland were among his most prolific,
and the paintings that he produced there among his most accomplished.
Essays explore Henri's familiarity with Irish subjects and culture prior
to his first trip to Ireland, and focus on the striking portraits that
he created during his Irish sojourns.