Patrick Hennessy
, Irish, 1915-1980
Title
The Yew WalkMediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
61 x 51 cm
Signedlower right: Hennessy
Credit LinePurchased, 2018
Object numberNGI.2018.58
DescriptionThis work, in line with many of Hennessy's paintings, features what has been described as 'the sinister in the everyday'. The motif of a classical bust resting incongruously against a tree in the foreground anticipates the symbolist direction Hennessy's would soon take. In other respects, the work is confounding in its orthodoxy. The detail, particularly in the foreground, is meticulously described, and indicative of Hennessy's familiarity with painting of the Dutch Golden Age. The painting is a hybrid, at once landscape and still-life, but also seeming to withhold its narrative.ProvenanceAssociated American Artists, New York; Christie's, Dublin, 26 May 1993, lot 171; purchased, Sotheby's London, 11 September 2018, lot 37.Exhibition HistoryNew Perspectives. Acquisitions 2011 - 2020, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 11 May - 2 August 2021