Studio: international art (31.1904)

The Work of George Henry, R.S.A.

earlier of these works something of the poet- violin rise and fall, grow and blossom, under the
painter may be faintly traced, in the later ones it touch of a master.

is Henry, and Henry alone, that we see, both in Turning now to the latest and most matured
colour and in sentiment. Take, for instance, the manifestations of Henry's art, we come to his
hyacinth blue of such a picture as Springtime, or portraits. Allusion has already been made to his
the chrysanthemum gold of Harmony. In these feeling that in portraiture, as in much other art,
the artist had in his mind the all-satisfying beauty simplicity is one of the most desirable of qualities,
of the infinitely varied tints and tones of a single and that the face of the sitter is the obvious key-
flower ; and, in truth, as fresh, as clear, as simple, note of the picture, with which nothing should be
and as harmonious as the hues of any flower are allowed to interfere. In addition to this, he has
the subtleties of colour that characterise such a felt that there is no reason that a portrait should
picture as Symphony. Far from being a mono- not be a piece of decoration, while preserving to
chrome, it is a splendid exercise in golden reds and the full the character of the subject, insisting on
browns ; and in such work as this Henry has the essential humanity of the sitter, and retaining
shown that he is in truth a master of colour, of the aspect of modernity that rightly belongs to a
sustained harmonies, that flow and ripple in a work of to-day. The portraits painted by the early
series of variations of one basic note, just as Flemings are perfect decorative achievements; but
tenderly and as suavely as the cadences of a to paint like Van Eyck would be to falsify one's

work, and to produce a result lacking
the real spirit of the age, a characteristic
that should of right be present. But
there are other ways in which a por-
trait may be decoratively treated, and
these Henry has sought to employ,
believing that to a beholder the sense
of the decorative element in a picture
is as essential a part of its appeal and
its charm as is style to the reader
of a piece of accomplished prose.

All these qualities, combined with
an unusual grasp of character, are
evident in Henry's portraits of men ;
and such canvases as the Anthony
Brogan, Esq. (a delightful rendering of a
sympathetic sitter), George Burrell, Est].,
Dr. Livingstone, and N. G. Stevens, Esq.,
are full of fine work, soundly painted
and simply treated. Allusion should
also be made in this connection to the
great success Henry has achieved in his
rendering of the sensitive face of Pro-
fessor A. C. Bradley ( Professor of Poetry
at Oxford), to the recently completed
and highly successful presentment of
Lord Justice Ridley, and to the portraits
of J. W. Barclay, Esq., Lord Justice
Darling and R. L. Anderson, Esq.
Although the reproductions speak for
themselves as far as charm of com-
position and realisation of character are
concerned, neither tone nor colour can,
of course, be adequately conveyed in
black-and-white.

portrait of ai.ice Arthur by george henry, r.s.a. Fewer portraits ofladies have fallen to

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