Paul Henry

This is both a biography and a comprehensive catalogue of work, in excess of 340 pages and large in format. A ninety page illustrated biography traces Henry's life and career from his childhood in Belfast and early training in art, to France and then London and his return to Ireland. It is illustrated with photographs of people and places and examples of the work of other artists that featured in his life, including several paintings by his wife of twenty six years Grace Henry. It is well researched and written and very accessible. The catalogue of work occupies the rest of the book and is divided into three sections: Illustrations, Drawings and Paintings; in all totalling over 1100 entries. It is well illustrated (in total the book contains 470 illustrations, of which are 350 in black and white and 120 in colour) with many of the entries accompanied by observations or comments. The book concludes with a comprehensive section of Notes; Pictures in Public Collections; Bibliography; an Index of Titles and a General Index. This is a fine and informative publication providing a through coverage of Paul Henry's oeuvre, including his drawings and illustration and graphic work in addition to his paintings. Many of the illustrations in the book are in black and white, and while these include the drawings unfortunately many of his paintings are also shown in black and white. The majority of the images are little more than thumbnails, but most of the colour images are postcard size or larger up to half-page, with a few full-page bleed images invariable of a detail from a painting It is hard to fault this book on its text or its coverage, however it is a pity that so many of the paintings are reproduced so small and in black and white, but with so little available on the artist I suppose we should be grateful for this otherwise splendid offering.