Evening on Killary Bay 1936

Paul Henry’s ‘Evening on Killary Bay’ is an oil on canvas, and it feels like a direct encounter with a place. Look at how he handles the paint; it’s not about hiding the process, but about making the process *be* the subject. The surface is scrubby, built up from short, choppy strokes, like he’s wrestling the scene into being. And that palette—it's so reduced, almost monochrome. Various muted blues and greys layered over each other create an atmosphere that’s both heavy and luminous. I’m drawn to the cluster of cottages in the foreground. See how each one is rendered with just a few simple, angular strokes? They're solid, but also fragile, like they might dissolve back into the landscape at any moment. This reminds me of the landscapes of someone like Milton Avery, where abstraction meets observation. Henry's piece isn't just a picture, it’s a feeling. The painting invites us to see—and feel—the world in a different way.