Mayo island celebrates legacy of artist Robert Henri

A SMALL but successful Children of Achill and Robert Henri History Festival was held in Achill as part of the Decade of Centenaries programme.

Achill Tourism and the Museum of Childhood Ireland collaborated on the exciting historical, cultural and art history project exploring the activities of the American artist Robert Henri between 1913 and '28.

A founder member of the Ashcan school and having a great interest in painting social realities, Henri painted portraits of local children. The portraits go beyond a general study of local poverty but instead capture the individualism and personality of his young sitters, something exceedingly rare in portraits of youth at the time.

In his work, Henri managed to preserve the essence of a group that would otherwise have been lost time.

The recent conference attracted around 50 people and though small, it has leveraged more funding for research, county librarian Austin Vaughan told a meeting of Mayo County Council's heritage committee in a report.

The report set out how the children's world centred on family life and community and as such their life stories are an important snapshot of the social, cultural and historic fabric.

By acting now, reaching out to collect and record as much information as possible, this invaluable information will be preserved for generations.