General Notes

George Henry (1858 - 1943) was a Scottish painter, one of the most prominent of the Glasgow School. He was born in Irvine, North Ayrshire, and studied at the Glasgow School of Art, later in Macgregor's studio, but learned most from his nature studies at Kirkcudbright.

He was influenced also by his collaboration with E. A. Hornel in such works as "The Druids" (1887), Grosvenor Gallery, London. His "Galloway Landscape" was epoch-making at Glasgow by reason of its higher key of colour and essentially decorative character. Following these tendencies, the two friends spent a year and a half in Japan. Henry's importance consists in his influence in the Glasgow school in the direction of richer and more decorative color. In addition to genre and landscape, he also painted portraits, more distinguished by technical ability than by rendition of character. Henry's pictures in public collections include "The Blue Gown," Museum of Cape Town, "The Gray Hat," at Edinburgh, two portraits at Glasgow, and one at Montreal. He was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Academy (1902) and an associate of the Royal Academy.

"The Black Hat", a luminous portrait of a supremely confident Edwardian woman, was recently included in Modern Britain, an exhibition at Melbourne's National Gallery of Victoria.

from Wikipedia

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from http://www.invaluable.com/artist/henry-george-tt1whs0wj8

Henry, George (b Ayrshire, 1858; d London, 23 Dec 1943). Scottish painter. He trained at the Glasgow School of Art and painted in the early 1880s in W. Y. Macgregor's life studio and outdoors with James Guthrie, Joseph Crawhall and E. A. Walton. This resulted in his first major exhibit, Head of the Holy Loch (1882; Glasgow, A.G. & Mus.). Study in Paris at the Académie Julian in 1883 and 1886 confirmed his realist style deriving from Jules Bastien-Lepage and seen, for instance, in Cottar's Garden (1885; Broughton House, Dumfries & Galloway). In his Galloway Landscape (1889; Glasgow, A.G. & Mus.), however, he abandoned this for his mature decorative style of heightened impasto colour and vigorous arabesque design. This was further developed in collaboration with E. A. HORNEL in two symbolic paintings, The Druids (1890) and Star in the East (1891; both Glasgow, A.G. & Mus.), and in mural paintings for Glasgow buildings, such as Granting the First Charter to Glasgow in the City Chambers (1899 –1901). Part of the Celtic Revival, The Druids anticipates the search for primitive national origins that took Henry and Hornel to Japan in 1893-4. In his Japanese watercolours and oils, such as At Home in Japan (1894; Glasgow, A.G. & Mus.), Henry explored new features of simplified geometric design. After settling in London in the early 20th century he became popular as a portrait painter, but heavy reliance on Whistler and Velázquez replaced the originality of earlier work.
Grove Art excerpts - Electronic ©2003, Oxford Art Online

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http://www.exploreart.co.uk/artistic_styles_details.asp?ArtistID=36&ArtisticStyleID=3

George HENRY

1858 -1943
The Goldfish Bowl, signed and inscribed 'goldfish bowl, Tokyo, 1894'

Title: The Goldfish Bowl, signed and inscribed 'goldfish bowl, Tokyo, 1894'
Media: Watercolour on paper
Size: 23 x 23cm
Catalogue no.: 111D
Accession Date: 1956
Owner: Dumfriesshire Educational Trust

Title: Girl Sewing
Media: Gouache on paper
Size: 25 x 32cm
Catalogue no.: 113D
Accession Date:
Owner: Dumfriesshire Educational Trust

Associated Artists

Edward Atkinson HORNEL
Arthur MELVILLE
Edward Arthur WALTON


Art Works

1 2
       
Biography:

Born Ayrshire, George Henry studied at Glasgow School of Art for a short period in the early 1880s and attended informal classes at W Y Macgregor's studio in Bath Street. In 1881 Henry joined James Guthrie, Edward WALTON and Joseph Crawhall to paint at Brig O Turk in the Trossachs. He worked with the GLASGOW BOYS in 1882, but in 1883 he worked at Eyemouth near Cockburnspath. Guthrie and the square brush technique influenced his style at this stage.

In 1884 Henry worked at Cockburnspath along with Walton, Guthrie and Arthur MELVILLE and his art made great progress. His principal work that summer was Playmates painted mostly en plein-air (in the outdoors). In 1885 Henry met Edward Hornel who persuaded him to paint in Galloway, and in the following year they painted together in Kirkcudbright. The landscape suited Henry and he was to paint many of his most successful works there. He was also working in watercolour, a medium in which he naturally gifted. In 1889 Henry painted a Galloway Landscape, which summed up many aspects of the Kirkcudbright group, in particular an emphasis upon rich colour and a regard for the decorative patterns of a flattened picture plane. A Galloway Landscape represents the most progressive aspect of the Glasgow School, and although Henry had no contact with France, it approaches the work of the Pont-Aven group. In 1890 Hornel and Henry worked together on The Druids in which incised gesso and overlaid gold provide a strong decorative element, while Celtic mythology provides the subject.

A work of the following year The Star in the East was also a collaboration, but less successful. In February 1893 Henry and Hornel set off for Japan, a trip financed by Alexander Reid, the Glasgow dealer, and William Burrell, the collector. During their 19 months away both Henry and Hornel produced some of their finest work. Watercolours mostly represent Henry's Japanese period, as many of his oils stuck together and were destroyed on the journey home.

These watercolours are masterpieces of drawing, composition and technique, and many of the oils that Henry later worked up in his studio lack the spontaneity and freshness of the watercolours. During the 1890s Henry painted fine portraits both in oil and watercolour, executed with great panache, and with a strong sense of colour. After 1900, however, his work becomes less interesting. He settled in London painting portraits and figures in landscape. He died London aged 8.

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http://www.artistsfootsteps.co.uk/stories.asp?StoryID=22&loadType=1

George Henry

George Henry, forever to be associated with E A Hornel and the Glasgow Boys, produced in "A Galloway Landscape (1889)" one of the most distinctive and emblematic paintings of the region.

It was certainly revolutionary in its approach.  Craigdarroch Water by James Paterson, painted the same year shows a contrasting approach to landscape painting.  Henry's picture with its flattened perspective and bold use of colour has seen comparisons with the Post Impressionists like Gaugin.  The title is indicative of its non-realistic nature.  Although some have tried to identify the location of the painting it seems a pointless exercise.  It is simply a hill, a burn and some cows.  A Galloway Landscape.


Henry's picture caused bafflement and alarm when it was first shown at the Glasgow Institute in 1890.  The Hanging Committee, of whom James Paterson was one, placed the Glasgow Boys' pictures in one room, dubbed "the Chamber of Horrors".  A Galloway Landscape came in for particular criticism,

"Take for instance A Galloway Landscape of George Henry.  It may be clever but it is not art.  It is utterly destitute alike of perspective, atmosphere, and poetry, three very serious defects, as we take it, in a landscape picture."

[Helensburgh and Gareloch Times 12/02/1890]

George Henry never developed this style further, giving the painting a greater importance and adding to its enigma.  The Druids, a joint effort with Hornel, shows a similar approach but in a decorative setting. Henry fell ill soon after and left Kirkcudbright to recuperate in Ayrshire.  In 1893 he set off for Japan with Hornel and this was again to alter his painting style.  On his return he turned to portraits and moved to London where he became a successful society artist.

In 1996 the New Statesman asked "the great and the good to choose works of art they would love to find in their Christmas stocking".

Ian Jack wrote …unrealistically (the Glasgow art galleries aren't going to hand it over), George Henry's painting Galloway Landscape.  I don't know why.  It's just some black and white cows under a blue sky on a green hill.  Perhaps because it is so simple, restful and luminous…


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Scottish painter Gorge Henry (1858 –1943), born in Ayrshire, gained his formative training at Glasgow School of Art in the early 1880s and attended informal classes at William York Macgregor's studio in Bath Street. He later studied in Paris furthering his development as a figure painter and portraitist of the utmost refinement.
A crucial formative experience for the artist was the trip that he made to Japan with Edward Atkinson Hornel 1893-1894, during which he studied Japanese graphic art and painted a number of portraits of geishas. Following his travels Henry settled in London, keeping a studio in Glebe Place in Chelsea, and made a living as a highly admired and sought after society portrait painter. | © Sotheby's

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  Burial Notes

Cathcart Cemetery

  Recorded Events in His Life

• Gallery: A Collage of George Henry Paintings.

• He appeared on the 1861 Census of Scotland on 7 April 1861 in Sorn, Ayrshire, Scotland.
  

Margaret Fisher   Head       61   New Cumnock, Ayrshire   House Keeper
Ann Fisher        Daughter   29   Sorn, Ayrshire
George Fisher     Son        21   Sorn, Ayrshire          Bleacher
Thomas Gillies    Grandson   18   Glasgow, Lanarkshire    Bleacher
George Hendry     Grandson    3   Irvine, Ayrshire

• Gallery: East and West, in London, England.

• Gallery: The Lark, in Scotland.

• He appeared on the 1881 Census of Scotland on 3 April 1881 in Calton, Glasgow St. James, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
  

Jas Fisher     Head     46   Catrine, Ayr       Warehouseman (Sewed Muslin)
Margt Fisher   Mother   83   New Cumnock, Ayr
Anne Henry     Sister   48   Catrine, Ayr       House Keeper 
Geo Henry      Nephew   23   Irvine, Ayr        Draughtsman

• Gallery: Girl Sewing, in Scotland.

• Gallery: Barr, Ayrshire, in Barr, Ayrshire, Scotland.
  
  Oil on panel.

• He worked as a draughtsman on 3 April 1881 in Calton, Glasgow St. James, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

• Gallery: The Head of the Holy Loch, in 1882, in Scotland.

• Gallery: In a Cottar's Garden, in 1885, in Scotland.
  
  Artist: George Henry
  Title: In a Cottar's Garden
  Date: 1885
  Medium: Watercolour
  Description:  11.5 by 17.5 inches
  
  While the figure in the painting may be more typical of the East coast, this work has strong links with Kirkcudbright.  On the reverse of the painting is a sketch of the church yard at Kirkcudbright.
  
  Gallery: Broughton House, Kirkcudbright

• Gallery: Noon, in 1885, in Scotland.
  
  Artist: George Henry
  Title: Noon
  Date: 1885
  Medium: Oil on canvas
  Description: 20 x 24 inches
  
  Image has been supplied in arrangement with Bourne Fine Art.

• Gallery: A Galloway Landscape, in 1889, in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland.
  
  Artist: George Henry
  Title: A Galloway Landscape
  Date: 1889
  Medium: Oil on canvas
  Description:  121 by 152.4 cm
  
  That Henry's masterpiece was painted near Kirkcudbright reflects the influence of his friend E A Hornel and this, too, can be seen in a number of elements in the painting, notably the winding burn, which features in a number of Hornel's work about this time.  Here, Henry, like Hornel has moved away from the Bastien-Lepage realism, which inspired works such as Noon.  Now colour, pattern and texture take precedence over form.  The exaggerated size of the animals is striking as is the two dimensional quality of the work. A Galloway Landscape, revolutionary at the time nevertheless remains a timeless evocation of the local Galloway landscape, which so influenced the Kirkcudbright and visiting artists of the period.
  
  Gallery: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow
  Location: Kirkcudbright
  
  
  George Henry's A Galloway Landscape (1889) exhibited at the Glasgow Institute in 1890 and was readily dismissed by critics. The Scotsman newspaper, while reporting on the exhibition, commented on how the painting was considered by some to be a joke, played upon the generous Hanging Committee. The criticisms lay in its two dimensional quality and the tonality of the colours used. The contours of the hills and the winding burn at its base create a sense of unnatural rhythm and design. However, it was Henry's decision to use such vivid colours for a simple country scene that provoked some critics to consider his approach to landscape naïve. George Henry's work has since been recognised as a dynamic piece of work that has helped change Scottish landscape painting. (painting bio from http://www.gla.ac.uk/0t4/~dumfries/files/honours_web/cultural.htm)

• Gallery: The Druids Bringing in the Mistletoe, in 1890, in Scotland.
  
  Artist: George Henry
  Title: The Druids Bringing in the Mistletoe
  Date: 1890
  Medium: Oil on canvas
  Description:  152.4 by 152.4 cm.
  
  This vibrant canvas, painted by Hornel and Henry, was inspired by the interest at that time in the archaelogical discoveries about Kirkcudbright, evidence of which can also be found in The Brownie of Blednoch.  The Druids is a fine contribution to the Celtic Revival of the 1890s, most closely associated with the artist John Duncan.
  
  Gallery: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow
  Location: Dumfries and Galloway

• Gallery: Poppies, in 1891, in Scotland.

• He appeared on the 1891 Census of Scotland on 5 April 1891 in Calton, Glasgow St. James, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
  

James Fisher   Head     55        Catrine, Ayrshire   Warehouseman (Muslin)
Annie Henry    Sister   57        Catrine, Ayrshire   House Keeper
George Henry   Nephew   51 [31]   Catrine, Ayrshire   Artist Painting

• He worked as an Artist Painting on 5 April 1891 in Calton, Glasgow St. James, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

• Gallery: The Japanese Baby, in 1893, in Japan.

• Gallery: At Home in Japan, about 1894, in Japan.

• Gallery: Geisha Girl, in 1894, in Japan.
  
  Oil on canvas, 1894

• Gallery: The Goldfish Bowl, in 1894, in Tokyo, Tðkyð, Japan.

• He appeared on the 1901 Census of Scotland on 31 March 1901 in Calton, Glasgow St. James, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
  

James Fisher   Head     64   Catrine, Ayrshire   Linen Muslin & Cotton Manufacter
Annie Fisher   Sister   66   Catrine, Ayrshire
George Henry   Nephew   40   Irvine, Ayrshire    Artist (painter)

• He worked as an Artist (painter) on 31 March 1901 in Calton, Glasgow St. James, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

• Gallery: Brambles, in 1920, in London, England.

• Gallery: Detail view of the family gravestone in Cathcart Cemetery, about 26 December 1943, in Cathcart, Glasgow City, Scotland.

• He was buried at the Cathcart Cemetery in Cathcart, Glasgow City, Scotland about 26 December 1943.
  
  IN MEMORY OF
  MARGARET HAINING
  RELICT OF JOHN FISHER, CATRINE,
  WHO DIED 5TH NOVEMBER 1887,
  AGED 90 YEARS.
  ANNE COWAN FISHER,
  WIDOW OF WILLIAM HENRY,
  DIED 11TH AUGUST 1909, AGED 76 YEARS.
  JAMES FISHER,
  DIED 20TH MARCH 1913, AGED 78 YEARS.
  GEORGE HENRY, R.A. R.S.A.
  SON OF THE ABOVE WILLIAM HENRY
  DIED 23RD DECEMBER 1943, AGED 85 YEARS.