Robert Henri 1865 - 1929

Private collection, Bel Air, California
By descent in the family (their son), circa 1956

"Robert Henri: And The New Society of Artists," Vanity Fair, February 1925, illustrated p. 28

The condition report has been prepared by Simon Parkes Art Conservation and can be provided by the department by calling 212-606-7280.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

During the 1920s, Robert Henri and his wife Marjorie made several trips to Ireland's scenic western coast. The peripatetic artist first visited there in 1913, renting the Corrymore House, located outside the village of Dooagh, and made arrangements to purchase the house in 1924. There, every spring and summer for the following four years, Henri painted the children of Dooagh, who appear to have filled a void for the childless artist and his wife. Eager and willing to sit for him, Mary Agnes, Sarah B. and Hughie, among others, would leave their thatched houses in the village and trudge up the hill to the Henri's spacious and welcoming home. Henri forged warm friendships with his models as Majorie played music on the Victrola and promised tea and sandwiches when they were finished posing. In portraits such as Mary Agnes, Henri delicately balances youthful innocence with an innate knowingness. As he once remarked: "If you paint children you must have no patronizing attitude toward them. Whoever approaches a child without humility ... and without infinite respect, misses in his judgment of what is before him..."

Henri's distinct style of portraiture is unique among his contemporaries.  Often grouped with Ashcan artists and social realists stylistically, Henri's work is indebted to his absorption of the dark canvases and loose brushwork of Franz Hals, Rembrandt and Velasquez during his trips to Spain and Holland.  Despite the vigorous execution and uninhibited spontaneity in his works, his figures have a solidity of mass and exhibit Henri's thorough knowledge of anatomy. He established his color compositions in advance, resulting in a sense of tonal harmony that when combined with his increasingly lively brushstrokes, helped create works of exceptional vitality and presence.