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 ...
Oil, Cardboard, Canvas
"On the Sands, Long Island Sound" William John Hennessy, New York, Irish Artist
By William John Hennessy
Located in New York, NY
William John Hennessy On the Sands, Long Island Sound Signed and dated lower left; signed, dated, and titled on the reverse Oil on canvas 15 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches William John Hennes...
Canvas, Oil
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
$6,500
H 22 in W 30 in
"Summer Pier Fishing" American Scene Social Realism WPA Mid-20th Century Modern
By Syd Browne
Located in New York, NY
"Summer Pier Fishing" American Scene Social Realism WPA Mid-20th Century Modern Syd J. Browne (1907-1991) "Summer Pier Fishing" 22 x 30 inches Oil on canvas. c. 1930s Signed lower r...
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
$12,500
H 17 in W 13 in
Love Mirror Oil on Canvas, Signed Magazine Cover, Circa 1937, 17x13
Located in Miami, FL
Love Mirror, True Experiences magazine cover, February 1937 by Female Illustrator and Pupl Artist Georgia Warren Oil on canvas 17 x 13 inches (43.2 x 33.0 cm) Signed lower left: War...
Canvas, Oil
$26,000
H 20 in W 22 in D 2 in
Landscape American Hungarian European Modernism 1938 Realism Long Island WPA era
By Stephen Csoka
Located in New York, NY
Landscape American Hungarian European Modernism 1938 Realism Long Island WPA era. The canvas measures 18” x 20". The artist signed the stretcher as well as the canvas. The scene depicts a spots in New York where Queens borders with Nassau county, Rosedale, which abuts the Five Towns. The border runs through Hook Creek, another painting we are currently offering. Stephen (Istvan) Csoka was born in Gárdony, Hungary on January 2, 1897 and died in New York in 1989. He is best remembered as a painter and etcher of portraits, nudes, landscapes, genre, and horses. Csoka studied at the Budapest Royal Academy of Art and his memberships include Associate of the National Academy of Design in New York City; the Society of American Etchers in Brooklyn, NY; the Society of Brooklyn Artists; and the Hungarian Etchers Association. Csoka's exhibitions and awards include a medal at the Barcelona International Exhibition in 1929; a prize at the City of Budapest Exhibit in 1930; prizes at the Society of American Etchers in 1942 and 1945; prizes at the Library of Congress in 1944 and 1946; a prize at the Society of Brooklyn Artists in 1944; a prize at the Philadelphia Watercolor Club in 1945; the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1945; the Carnegie Institute in 1943, 1944, and 1945; the Art Institute of Chicago in 1944; the Los Angeles Museum of Art in 1945; the National Academy of Design from 1940 through 1945; one-artist shows at the Contemporary Artists in 1940, 1943, and 1945; and the Minneapolis State Fair in 1943. *Stephen continued to recieve awards and exhibit his work throughout his life. In 1997, Hofstra Museum sponsored a Retrospective/Centennial exhibition in honor of his birth. Collections representing Csoka's work are the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; the British Museum, London, England; the Bezalel National Museum, Jerusalem, Israel; the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, MA; the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH; the Sheldon Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, IN; the Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL; the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN; the Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM; the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary; Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, Hungary, the Museum of the City of Budapest, Budapest, Hungary; the Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA; the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA; Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, GA; Hofstra Museum, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY; Holocaust Museum, Glen Cove, NY; National Academy of Art, New York, NY; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA; New York Historical Society, New York, NY;New York Public Library, New York, NY; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Peabody Museum, Cambridge, MA; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; Reading Public Museum, Reading, PA; Livingston Arts Center, Mount Morris, NY; Ball State Teachers College, Muncie, IN; City College, New York, NY; Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY; Hungarian Consulate, New York, NY; Hungarian Heritage, New Brunswick, NJ; Hunter College, New York, NY; IBM Collections; Princeton Print Club...
Canvas, Oil
$20,000
H 24 in W 18 in D 1 in
"Surrealist Violin" Photorealist Oil on Canvas Painting of Violin and Notes
Located in New York, NY
A surrealistic Nemethy from a brand new series which fuzes photorealism with surrealism in a most interesting current style. With the finest details, Nemethy creates an atmosphere th...
Canvas, Oil
$14,278
H 29.14 in W 36.62 in D 1.19 in
Le Grand Basin des Tuileries. Oil on canvas, 74x93 cm. Signed
By Jules René Hervé
Located in Riga, LV
Le Grand Basin des Tuileries. Oil on canvas, 74x93 cm
Oil, Canvas
$2,000
H 12 in W 15.8 in D 0.5 in
19th Century European Romantic Moonlit River Landscape Oil Canvas Signed
Located in Stockholm, SE
This enchanting night landscape in oil on canvas was painted by an Unidentified, presumably German, master "P. JHNEN" or "P. IHNEN", in the late 19th century, and is imbued with a ro...
Canvas, Wood, Oil
$18,000
H 33 in W 38 in D 2 in
Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC
Located in New York, NY
Depression Era Mid 20th Century Social Realism Modern WPA American Scene NYC Saul Kovner (1904-1981) Hot Summer Night 25 x 30 inches Oil on canvas Signed lower left and dated‘48 Fr...
Canvas, Oil
$7,500
H 19.5 in W 15.5 in D 1.5 in
“Eastern White Pines, c. 1910”, New England Landscape, Signed Oil Painting
By Charles Warren Eaton
Located in Yardley, PA
“Eastern White Pines, c. 1910” by Charles Warren Eaton (American, 1857-1937). A wonderful example of Eaton’s renowned compositions of Eastern white pine trees in his mature style. A...
Canvas, Oil, Board
$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
$18,000
H 25 in W 32 in
NYC Cafe WPA American Scene Social Realism Regionalism Modernism Woman Artist
Located in New York, NY
NYC Cafe WPA American Scene Social Realism Regionalism Modernism Woman Artist Dorothy Eaton (1893-1968) New York City Cafe Scene, 1931. 20 x 29 inches ...
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
Two Girls
By Hamilton Hamilton
Located in Milford, NH
A beautiful full portrait of two girls, possibly the artist's daughters, with spring flowers by British American artist Hamilton Hamilton (1847-1928). Hamilton was born in Oxford, En...
Canvas, Oil
$945
H 22.4 in W 28.5 in D 0.5 in
19th Century Oil Painting Sussex Coast Fishermen Returning Maritime Scene
Located in Stockholm, SE
This captivating mid 19th century oil on canvas depicts a touching maritime scene along England's Sussex coast, renowned for its dramatic white chalk cliffs and centuries-old fishing...
Canvas, Wood, Oil