William John Hennessy was born in Ireland. He came to America in 1849 with his mother and brother a year following his father's fleeing their homeland after taking part in the unsuccessful Young Ireland Party uprising. The Hennessys settled in New York, and when young William came of age, he decided upon a career as an artist. At the age of 15, he enrolled at the National Academy of Design, where he learned to draw from the antique, and the following year he was granted admission to the Academy’s life-drawing class.
Hennessy first exhibited at the National Academy in 1857, starting a continuous run of appearances in their annuals that lasted until 1870, when he expatriated himself to Europe. During his time in America, Hennessy was principally known as a genre painter and prolific illustrator for such publications as Harper’s Weekly and a number of books, including illustrated works of William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Hennessy left the United States and settled in London, living there and in its environs variously for a few years, and summered in Normandy, where he ultimately established a permanent residence in 1875. In 1893, Hennessy returned to England, but continued to spend a good deal of his time in France. Though the bulk of his career was spent abroad, Hennessy maintained a lifelong identification as an American, and exhibited with other American expatriates in both the Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia, in 1876, and also occasionally sent works to the National Academy’s annual exhibitions.
Few works by Hennessy are known today. From what one can glean from the surviving works, early on in his career, Hennessy appears to have concentrated on genre scenes and Barbizon-influenced landscapes, while in the late 1870s he appears to have adopted an more aestheticized style derived from Whistler and the English Pre-Raphaelites. His later works, from the mid-1890s on, show the strong influence of Impressionism.
Works by Hennessy are in public collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Brooklyn Museum, New York; the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut; the National Academy of Design, New York; the Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Massachusetts; the Century Association, New York; and the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York.
(Biography provided by Hirschl & Adler)
Portrait of the Artist's Daughters, American Impressionism Painting, Signed
By William John Hennessy
Located in PARIS, FR
William John Hennessy Thomastown 1839 - Rudgwick 1917 Portrait of the Artist's Daughters Circa 1880 Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard Signed bottom left 33 x 23.5 cm canvas 44 x ...
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
The Race
By William John Hennessy
Located in New York, NY
William John Hennessy was born in Ireland. He came to America in 1849 with his mother and brother a year after his father had fled their homeland after taking part in the unsuccessful Young Ireland Party uprising. The Hennessys settled in New York, and when young William came of age, he decided upon a career as an artist. At the age of fifteen, he enrolled at the National Academy of Design, where he learned to draw from the antique, and the following year he was granted admission to the Academy’s life-drawing class. Hennessy first exhibited at the National Academy in 1857, starting a continuous run of appearances in their annuals that lasted until 1870, when he expatriated himself to Europe. During his time in America, Hennessy was principally known as a genre painter and prolific illustrator for such publications as Harper’s Weekly and a number of books, including illustrated works of William Cullen Bryant...
Canvas, Oil
$9,500
H 25.5 in W 21.5 in D 2 in
“Jamaican Girl by the Palm Tree, c. 1930” American Impressionist Portrait Lyme
By Will Howe Foote
Located in Yardley, PA
“Jamaican Girl by the Palm Tree, c. 1930” by Will Howe Foote (American, 1874-1965) A fantastic portrait of a young Jamaican woman set against a vibrant palm frond, painted by the re...
Oil, Board
$40,000
H 58 in W 52 in
"Glad and Rhododendron" Irving Ramsey Wiles, American Impressionist Portrait
By Irving Ramsey Wiles
Located in New York, NY
Irving Ramsey Wiles Glad and Rhododendron, circa 1927 Inscribed indistinctly with title (on the turnover) Oil on canvas 46 x 40 inches Provenance The artist Estate of the artist Hir...
Canvas, Oil
Portrait of a Girl with Flowers
By Pauline Palmer
Located in Milford, NH
A wonderful oil portrait of a girl with flowers with mottled light by American artist Pauline Lennards Palmer (1867-1938). Born in McHenry, Illinois, Palmer studied at the Art Instit...
Canvas, Oil, Panel
"Looking for Breakfast", Oil Painting
By Christopher Clark
Located in Denver, CO
Christopher Clark's (US based) "Looking for Breakfast" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a bird perched in a flooded grassy field. Bio/artist statement: Christopher has been an artist since early childhood, when he would watch Bob Ross on PBS and mimic the famed oil painter’s art with crayons. He considers himself a self-educated artist, with his studies ranging from personal training with contemporary masters, to classical academic art technique, with much inspiration from 19th Century art and the Impressionist Movement. Christopher lived in Italy for a time, immersing himself in Italian culture and art, which continues to influence his painting. His fan base has grown considerably since his return to the US, gaining the attention of Lucasfilm and Marvel Fine Art, which both signed him as an officially licensed artist in 2016. Other clients include George Lucas, Major League Baseball, Louisville Slugger...
Canvas, Oil
$12,000
H 24 in W 28 in
Impressionist Portrait of African American Family, Signed, 18x22
Located in Fredericksburg, VA
This impressionist painting by Virginia artist Walter Biggs captures a moment of quiet strength and familial connection. A seated man rests outside with his hat in hand, while a youn...
Canvas, Oil
World War II Invades Central Park
By Cecil Crosley Bell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
World War II Invades Central Park, 1943, oil on canvas, signed lower right, 30 x 36 inches, literature: Barton, Phyllis, Cecil C. Bell, McGrew Color Graphics (Kansas City, MO, 1976),...
Canvas, Oil
$636Sale Price|20% Off
H 23.5 in W 19.5 in D 0.13 in
Mid Century Native American Portrait
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid century Native American portrait by B. Shepard (American, 20th Century). Signed "B. Shepard" lower middle. Unframed. Currently on a mat, ...
Oil, Cardboard
PRIVATE ISLAND SERIES, “Passing Storm"
By Wes Hempel
Located in Fairfield, CT
A walk through any major museum will reveal paintings that depict or legitimate only certain kinds of experience. Despite the good intentions of critical theorists questioning the va...
Canvas, Oil
$3,500
H 15.5 in W 13.5 in
Puddle Jumper. Woman With Umbrella Original Oil American Rainy Scene Painting.
Located in Marco Island, FL
An ordinary scene of a woman walking down a sidewalk in the rain is elevated to a little gem of a painting. American life is captured in this Clyde Singer painting, Puddle Jumper (...
Canvas, Oil
$888
H 18.12 in W 14.97 in
Impressionist Girl Playing Flute Poetic Spanish Figurative Oil Painting art
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Impressionist Girl Playing Flute – Poetic Spanish Figurative Oil Painting Artist: Enrique Montserrat Foj Medium: Oil on canvas mounted on board Period: c. 1980 Movement: Spanish Imp...
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
"The Red Dress"
By Joseph Newman
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Joseph Newman (1890 - 1979) Joseph Newman was born in New York City in 1890. He attended the Pratt Institute and the Adelphi College Art School, and served in the U.S. Army during WWW1. After the war, he married and traveled to Europe. He returned to New York in the mid 1920's, and with a group of contemporaries formed The Fifteen Gallery in Manhattan. Newman painted a broad variety of subjects including genre scenes, landscapes, figurative works, and equestrian subjects. He worked in various styles ranging from academic realism to a looser, post-impressionist approach, and is best known for colorful, animated genre scenes painted in and around Rockport Harbor and as far west as Taos, New Mexico. He exhibited frequently at the Brooklyn Museum, The National Academy, The Carnegie Institute, The Whitney and The Society of Independent Artists. He was a member of the L.C. Tiffany Foundation, The Salmagundi Club, Rockport Art Association, and the American Watercolor Society. His work is represented in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, The Newark Museum, the Boston Library...
Canvas, Oil
$6,500
H 35 in W 25.5 in
"The Guitarist" Louis Betts, 1920s Portrait American Impressionist Painting
By Louis Betts
Located in New York, NY
Louis Betts The Guitarist, circa 1920 Signed upper left Oil on canvas 27 x 18 inches Louis L. Betts was a painter active in the first half of the twentieth century in the United St...
Canvas, Oil