Patrick Hennessy RHA (1915 - 1980) Sunset Cavalcade Oil on canvas, 62.5 x 88cm (24½ x 34½) Signed Horses are a common theme in Hennessy's work, appearing in various iterations, often part of larger landscape and figural scenes, such as this seascape example. His finesse and skill as a painter were best exemplified in his depiction of animals, with an incredible eye for detail and anatomical correctness. In this present work, the features of the horses' faces are beautifully rendered, and he focuses our attention on certain details, the tautness of the muscles as they walk, the wind rushing through the white horses' mane. Hennessy was a prolific painter, fusing a photo-realist style with a strange almost surrealist character, depicting figures in isolated landscapes, works with their own hidden internal narrative. The paintings often contained visual codes that signified a clear portrayal of homosexual life, a theme which was largely ignored by the art critics in the 1960s and 70s of conservative catholic Ireland. Ireland in the post-war years, had not experienced the same developments in artistic movements as other European capitals at the time. The RHA denominated the artistic scene in Ireland in the 1940s and while Hennessey was elected an associated of the academy in 1948, it was through independent galleries such as Victor Waddington and Richie Hendriks, in particular, that he achieved significant success and much needed support throughout his career. Portraits of male figures appear predominately in his work, in which he celebrates the friendships and relationships between men. This group or cavalcade, set against the beautiful golden sky, creates a dreamlike atmosphere with the sun slowly setting behind the horizon line and casting a dappled glow across water's surface. Niamh Corcoran, June 2021