Lot 658: ROBERT HEALY (1743-1771) A Portrait of a Man,

ROBERT HEALY (1743-1771) A Portrait of a Man, Standing by a Bench in a Wooded Garden Setting; and The companion portrait of a Man Seated in a Woodland Setting with a Sporting Gun and a Dog A pair, black and white chalk, highlighted with body colour, each 58 x 40cm Both signed and dated 1769 Provenance: Almost certainly Cuthbert Collingwood Denny, and by descent at Beaulieu House Exhibited: (possibly) 1769, Society of Artists in Ireland, No. 98 Small Whole Length Portraits Labels to the back of these recently discovered and significant additions to the oeuvre of Healy identify the sitter as Anthony Denny. The Denny of County Kerry connection with Beaulieu was established by the marriage of Richard Johnston Montgomery to Mary Patience Collingwood Denny, daughter of Cuthbert Collingwood Denny of Kerry. Their ancestor Anthony Denny established a cadet branch of the Denny family, and as his dates do not fit the date of these drawings a more likely candidate is his father, Sir Edward Denny of Tralee Castle and Churchill, Co. Kerry. Robert Healy (fl.1765-1771) Described by Strickland as a 'Portrait and Animal Painter in chalks', Healy trained in the Dublin Society's Schools and subsequently established his studio at Wood Quay in Dublin. He is recorded in 1766 and 1767 as exhibiting his trademark portrait drawings at the Society of Artists in William Street where he continued to exhibit up to 1770 when he was awarded a silver palette for the best exhibited drawing of a group of figures. Healy was very highly regarded for his black and white portraits and enjoyed quite a Reputation and a considerable practice with many important clients including the Conollys of Castletown and Lord Mountjoy. Pasquin said of Healy's drawings, that they ''are proverbial for their exquisite softness; they look like fine proofs of the most capital mezzotint engravings'' a not inapt description. Robert Healy died in July 1771, from the effects of a cold brought on while sketching cattle in Lord Mornington's park. Strickland mentions that there are two self portraits in the National Gallery of Ireland, drawn in chalk in 1765 and 1766.