Fine Irish genre oil painting by Howard Helmick 1840-1907

A superb oil on canvas depicting an Irish couple by the American artist Howard Helmick 1840-1907. The scene shows a shepherd returning home to where his wife has been hard at work spinning wool. The piece is done in a realistic manner in the romantic tradition, with a pre-Raphaelite influence. The painting is signed to the right ‘H.Helmick’ and dated 1879. Howard Eaton Helmick was born in Ohio and trained at the Ohio Mechanics Institute in Cincinnati, and subsequently at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He moved to Paris and studied under the guidance of Alexandre Cabanel at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He exhibited at the Paris Salons, and he became acquainted with the renowned American impressionist painter Mary Cassat. Both artists showed work at the Salon in Paris in 1869. By 1872 Helmick had left France for London and Ireland. He began exhibiting at London’s Royal Academy, in 1873 and started his great Irish series. By 1879 he was elected as member of the Society of British Artists, and by 1881 the Society of Painter Etchers. He quickly established himself by exhibiting at the major British galleries. He was close friends with other American exiles such as James McNeill Whistler. Helmick moved to Washington, D.C., in 1887. There he was active in the Society of Washington Artists, the Washington Water Colour Club and the Washington Society of Fine Arts. As a Professor of the Philosophy and History of Art, Helmick taught painting and drawing at the Art Students League of Washington, at Georgetown University and in his Georgetown studio. He simultaneously exhibited at the national Academy of Design, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Brooklyn Art Association. He was even represented at the Paris Exposition of 1900. Helmick also contributed illustrations to The Century Magazine and Harper’s Magazine and is represented in the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the National Museum of American Art. He died in 1907 at his home in Georgetown Washington. This is a fine example of Helmick’s Irish work with a wonderful skill at catching an intimate moment between a couple who spend their lives working hard. The painting is in excellent condition having been professionally cleaned and retains the original frame which has been re-gilt in the not-too-distant past. The whole is a fine example of Victorian genre painting with both Irish and American interest.

Overall sizes in inches including frame: 28 ½ by 34