Henry Allan (painter) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Henry Allan
|
|
|---|---|
| Born | 18 June 1865 |
| Died | 2 September 1912 (aged 47) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Known for | Painting |
Henry Allan (born June 18, 1865 – died September 2, 1912) was an Irish painter. He was born in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. Henry was the youngest son of William and Anne Allan.
He studied art in Belfast and Dublin. Later, he continued his art education in Antwerp, Belgium. He studied alongside another artist named Richard Moynan. Henry won many awards at the Antwerp Academy. He also won the Taylor Prize at the Royal Dublin Society. His paintings show influences from his training in Antwerp and from a style called the Hague School.
Contents
Henry Allan's Early Life
Growing Up in Ireland
Henry Allan was born on June 18, 1865, in Dundalk, County Louth. His father, William Allan, was a distiller. His mother, Anne Allan, was the daughter of a minister.
Henry started his art training in Belfast and Dublin. Between 1882 and 1883, he studied at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. He studied there with another famous artist, Roderic O'Conor. O'Conor is known as one of Ireland's best artists. His work is shown in museums around the world.
Studying Art in Antwerp (1884-1888)
When he was eighteen, Henry Allan went to Antwerp, Belgium. In May 1884, he joined a summer course at the Académie Royale. His friends, O'Conor and Richard Moynan, also studied there. They had also attended the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art.
In Antwerp, Allan shared a place with other Irish students. Many young Irish artists were at the academy in the 1880s. This allowed Allan to work with artists like Dermod O'Brien. Even the famous painter Vincent van Gogh was a student there for a short time. Van Gogh once mentioned an "Allan" in a letter. It is thought he was talking about Henry Allan.
Henry Allan returned to Ireland in 1888. Many of his Irish friends from Antwerp went to France to continue painting.
Henry Allan's Art Career
Awards and Exhibitions
At the Académie in Antwerp, Allan started by studying ancient art. He quickly won a prize for his drawing in May 1885. Later, he studied painting with a teacher named Karel Verlat. In 1887, he won another award for a painting.
Allan was inspired by artists from the Hague School. This style often showed a feeling of nostalgia. You can see this in Allan's painting called A Dutch Interior.
He began to show his paintings at the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1889. He continued to send his artwork to their yearly shows until 1912. In total, he displayed 113 works there.
In 1893, his painting "Little Matchseller" won the Albert prize. This helped him become an associate member of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1895. In 1898, he showed his most expensive painting, "Martial Law - An Episode of the Irish Rebellion in 1798". After that, he showed "The Holy Women and St John with the Body of our Lord". This led to him becoming a full member of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1901. He also served as their treasurer from 1909 to 1911.
His art was also shown at other big exhibitions. These included the Cork International Exhibition in 1902 and the Irish International Exhibition in Dublin in 1907. His work was also featured in two Irish art shows in London.
Death and Legacy
Henry Allan became ill and passed away on September 2, 1912. He was 47 years old. He was buried in the Mount Jerome Cemetery in Dublin.
Henry Allan's work as an artist is not widely known today. This is partly because many of his paintings might have been lost or destroyed.
One painting that is still known is A Dutch Interior (1888). It shows an old man looking closely at a silver cup in an antique shop. This painting helps prove Allan's training at the Académie Royale des Beaux Arts.
Another known painting is The Rag Pickers (1884-5). It has been called a "striking work." It shows two women in dark clothes on a beach. One of them is pointing at some figures in the distance. Allan reportedly won a prize for his painting, The Little Match-seller, in 1893. However, no one knows where that painting is today.
Other paintings by Henry Allan include:
- Lagan brook, County Louth (1880)
- "Dawn", Dublin Hills (1904)
- Old Trees, Herbert Park (1907)
- Banna Villa, Ranelagh (no date given)
- Chickens by a Cottage (no date given)
- Martial Law - An Episode of the Irish Rebellion in 1798 (no date given)
- The Holy Women and St John with the Body of our Lord (no date given)
- Berchem-near Antwerp (no date given)
- The Rue de Steen, Antwerp (no date given)
- Mrs Kidney and Maureen (no date given)
- The Yellow Blouse (no date given)
- Dublin Ragpickers (no date given)
The painting A Dutch Interior was given to the National Gallery of Ireland in 1912. It was donated by Joseph Malachy Kavanagh after Allan's death. A Dutch Interior is still on display there. The Rag Pickers is part of a private collection. The locations of his other paintings are unknown. They may have been sold to private collectors or no longer exist.
