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New England Barberry Picker
Oil on Canvas, 41 x 97cm
Signed and dated 1874
Provenance: Private Collection, New York; Private Collection, Bloomington, Indiana
William John Hennessy was born in Thomstown, County Kilkenny, on 11 July 1839, the son of John Hennessy and Catherine Hennessy, née Laffin. John immigrated to Canada in 1848 when his involvement in the unsuccessful rising of the Young Ireland movement forced him into exile, moving to New York a year later. Catherine and their children joined him that same year at 87, Franklin Street. In New York, William began his life in art when he entered the National Academy of Design at the age of 15.
He first exhibited there in 1857 and continued to do so until 1870. He was elected as an Associate of the Academy in 1861 and as an Academician in 1863. On 19 June 1870, William married Charlotte Amelia Mather, and the couple left America for Europe soon thereafter. While travelling, they developed a social circle that included artists such as Joseph Pen-nell (1857-1926) and James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903).
Painted a year before the artist's move to Normandy, this work depicts a girl collecting barberries in an autumnal New England landscape, barberries being a a popular New England plant typically used as a natural dye. This painting closely relates to Hennessy's Royal Academy exhibition in 1871, A New England Barberry Picker. Returning to the subject matter in 1875 suggests Hennessy's American scenes proved desirable amongst European collectors.
€ Enquire
New England Barberry Picker
Oil on Canvas, 41 x 97cm
Signed and dated 1874
Provenance: Private Collection, New York; Private Collection, Bloomington, Indiana
William John Hennessy was born in Thomstown, County Kilkenny, on 11 July 1839, the son of John Hennessy and Catherine Hennessy, née Laffin. John immigrated to Canada in 1848 when his involvement in the unsuccessful rising of the Young Ireland movement forced him into exile, moving to New York a year later. Catherine and their children joined him that same year at 87, Franklin Street. In New York, William began his life in art when he entered the National Academy of Design at the age of 15.
He first exhibited there in 1857 and continued to do so until 1870. He was elected as an Associate of the Academy in 1861 and as an Academician in 1863. On 19 June 1870, William married Charlotte Amelia Mather, and the couple left America for Europe soon thereafter. While travelling, they developed a social circle that included artists such as Joseph Pen-nell (1857-1926) and James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903).
Painted a year before the artist's move to Normandy, this work depicts a girl collecting barberries in an autumnal New England landscape, barberries being a a popular New England plant typically used as a natural dye. This painting closely relates to Hennessy's Royal Academy exhibition in 1871, A New England Barberry Picker. Returning to the subject matter in 1875 suggests Hennessy's American scenes proved desirable amongst European collectors.