Robert Henri
1865 - 1929
Portrait of Sarah Burke
signed Robert Henri (on the reverse prior to lining)
oil on canvas
23 ½ by 19 ½ in.
59.7 by 49.5 cm.
Executed in 1924.
We are grateful to Valerie Ann Leeds for her assistance in researching this lot.
Condition Report
Provenance
Estate of the artist
John C. LeClair (acquired by descent from the above)
Julian J. Foss
Bernard Danenberg Galleries, New York
Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above in 1972)
Catalogue Note
Luminous and full of life, Portrait of Sarah Burke is a remarkable testament to the artist’s ability to capture his sitters with a rare energy and exquisite intimacy. The present work presents a striking depiction of a girl from Achill Island. Robert Henri first visited the rugged Irish landscape in July of 1913, prompted largely in part by his relationship with the artist John Butler Yeats. During his time spent on the mountainous island off the coast of Ireland, Henri’s preferred subject matter quickly became the local residents. In addition to food and refreshments, Henri compensated his models for their time, and thus had no shortage of subjects for his portraits.
After his 1913 visit, Henri did not return to Achill Island for more than ten years, largely in part to World War II and the subsequent Irish Civil War. In 1924, however, the artist and his wife Marjorie returned once more. It is during this visit that he completed Portrait of Sarah Burke in July of 1924. The model for the present work is the daughter of the village butcher. Local children, in particular, were eager to sit for Henri’s portraits, as it prompted a field trip to his residence at Corrymore House and an excuse to trade school for paid work. “The few days that any one child comes up here are certainly more educational than the days they lose at school by so doing,” Henri wrote in his diary on 26 July 1928. Henri would return to Achill Island every summer from 1924 to 1928, each time occupying himself with portraiture. He and his wife utilized Corrymore House as their summer residence and studio until Henri’s death in 1929.