Robert Henri

Kennedy Galleries, New York 

Julian Foss, Verona, New Jersey

Private Collection (acquired from the estate of the above)

Sotheby’s, New York, 30 March 1999, lot 108 (consigned by the above)

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Between 1900 and 1904, Robert Henri produced a prolific number of works of exceptional quality and originality. While Henri is best known for his portraits and figures, his lesser-known landscapes and city scenes of this period have exerted a powerful influence on the course of American art, due to a quality of freshness, authenticity and immediacy, which he achieved by immersing himself in nature and recording its changing moods in the moment.

Henri had a view of nature as a living force that interacts with man. In 1902, when the present work was executed, he summered at his in-laws’ residence in Black Walnut, Pennsylvania and spent the months of June and July roaming the countryside, endlessly inspired by the undulating terrain and the fleeting effects of rainstorms and cloud formations. Most of the work he produced during these months were pochades— rapid oil sketches executed on small panels—which were easily carried on hikes. Rising Storm Clouds: A Double-Sided Work reflects Henri’s skillful use of tonality—by exaggerating the value contrasts, he shifts from merely representing visual data to infusing the drama and grandeur of the natural world into the scene. Through his energetic brushwork, Henri reveals a mastery in capturing effects of the weather, reflecting his symbiotic responses to a landscape that was vital and alive.