One of Ireland’s most successful painters, Patrick Hennessy was an openly gay artist born on August 30, 1915. He is described as a surrealist artist who painted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits.

Born in Cork, Hennessy’s family moved to Scotland, where he spent the rest of his life until he was 24. His father died during World War 1 in 1917 and his mother remarried when he was 5 in 1921.

Patrick Hennessy attended the Dundee School of Art, where he met Henry Robertson Craig, his lifelong partner. Here, he worked under James McIntosh Patrick, RSA, who, when asked if he remembered him 50 years later, said that he did, as Hennessy was a great artist.

The Irish painter received First Class Distinction in 1937 and continued with college to get his Post-Graduate Diploma.

After winning a scholarship, Hennessy travelled to Paris to work under Fernandez Leger and other artists. At 24, he moved back to Ireland and was offered his first exhibition in St. Stephen’s Street. This exhibition helped him build a successful career. 

Most of his paintings did have a homosexual overtone, symbols, or indicators that largely had gone unnoticed or ignored for a long time. Being successful never changed that for him; he continued to showcase his sexuality in his paintings despite homosexuality being illegal at the time.  

 

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The Irish Independent described Patrick Hennessy’s artwork as having an “upsetting quality.” He was invited to join the Society of Dublin Painters, which held annual exhibitions of his work.

He was also an elected member of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1949. He had an exhibit titled De Profundis, which was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s famous prison letter. 

Hennessy’s work was taken to America, where he found even more success and was well-received by critics. He made his living by doing commissions, and being an artist was his life from a very young age. Over the years, he and Craig visited many European countries, where he found more inspiration and continued his art.

Critics would say that his art had gotten stale and genders were painted differently, but this did not matter to him as he continued to sell well.

Eventually, in later life, Hennessy and his partner moved to Tangier, Morocco, where there was a vibrant artistic gay community. Hennessy continued to send his artwork to the societies and academies that requested it.

When Patrick Hennessy began to get sick, Craig brought him to London to get help, but in 1980, he passed away from cancer. 

His artwork is timeless and would still hold up today; his composition and placement of his subjects were and still are uncommon. If you want to find more recent artists, we have that for you here.