DOI Heft:
No. 131 (February, 1904)
DOI Artikel:Bate, Percy: The work of George Henry, R. S. A.: a review and an appreciation
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19881#0020
The Work of George Henry, R.S.A.
BY GEORGE HENRY, R.S.A.
or of his artistic creeds or preferences, is a blemish ;
quite the reverse; but it is obvious that an artist
who continues to exhibit nothing but variations of the
same theme, treated in the same old way, may fairly
be criticised as limited, and may stand in danger of
being justly accused of running a picture factory,
instead of endeavouring to express himself in true
artistic fashion and to the utmost of his power.
But though the reproach that they "keep the
stencil" may be fairly levelled at many painters,
this cannot be said of the subject of this article.
George Henry is too sane a man and too sound an
artist to allow himself to get " groovey " ; and when
one sees how many methods he uses, and how
varied are his inspirations, one wonders not only at
his multifarious activities, but at his success in so
many departments of the painter's art. His work
ranges from oil paintings solidly and broadly treated
to suave and delicate water-colours; portraits of
both men and women, landscapes, figure-pieces,
and paintings that are frankly decorative—all these
4
have come from his easel, and, it is to be hoped,
may continue to do so. A review of his painting
will show a consistent growth ; a fearless resolve to
experiment, to rely rather on the results of his own
experience than on the dogmas of other painters ;
a desire to learn from his own failures, as well as
from the successes of others ; and an intention to
be the architect of his own accomplishment. At
the same time a student of his work will notice a
development, rather than a change, of ideals; a
gradual attainment of facility and mastery of
expresssion; and a constant elimination of the
extraneous, in the painter's desire for the simplicity
and serenity that mark the greatest art.
Born in Ayrshire, Henry's tendency from his
earliest years was towards art, and his student days
at the Glasgow School of Art were followed by a
period when it was his lot to have to do any work
that demanded a deft hand and a modicum of
artistic skill. The exact and laborious drawing of
wood-blocks for the engravers (work that, to use
BY GEORGE HENRY, R.S.A.
or of his artistic creeds or preferences, is a blemish ;
quite the reverse; but it is obvious that an artist
who continues to exhibit nothing but variations of the
same theme, treated in the same old way, may fairly
be criticised as limited, and may stand in danger of
being justly accused of running a picture factory,
instead of endeavouring to express himself in true
artistic fashion and to the utmost of his power.
But though the reproach that they "keep the
stencil" may be fairly levelled at many painters,
this cannot be said of the subject of this article.
George Henry is too sane a man and too sound an
artist to allow himself to get " groovey " ; and when
one sees how many methods he uses, and how
varied are his inspirations, one wonders not only at
his multifarious activities, but at his success in so
many departments of the painter's art. His work
ranges from oil paintings solidly and broadly treated
to suave and delicate water-colours; portraits of
both men and women, landscapes, figure-pieces,
and paintings that are frankly decorative—all these
4
have come from his easel, and, it is to be hoped,
may continue to do so. A review of his painting
will show a consistent growth ; a fearless resolve to
experiment, to rely rather on the results of his own
experience than on the dogmas of other painters ;
a desire to learn from his own failures, as well as
from the successes of others ; and an intention to
be the architect of his own accomplishment. At
the same time a student of his work will notice a
development, rather than a change, of ideals; a
gradual attainment of facility and mastery of
expresssion; and a constant elimination of the
extraneous, in the painter's desire for the simplicity
and serenity that mark the greatest art.
Born in Ayrshire, Henry's tendency from his
earliest years was towards art, and his student days
at the Glasgow School of Art were followed by a
period when it was his lot to have to do any work
that demanded a deft hand and a modicum of
artistic skill. The exact and laborious drawing of
wood-blocks for the engravers (work that, to use