This October we are showcasing the work of Henry Dawnay in an exhibition of London landscapes. I first met Henry 15 years ago when I opened my first gallery in Pimlico, London and have commissioned two portraits by him over the years.

On leaving school, Henry pursued his passion as a painter, travelling to Italy where he studied art history in Venice, Florence, and Rome. He then studied fine art in Florence where he lived for three years, gaining an understanding of drawing and oil painting techniques at the Charles H Cecil Studios.

Henry dawnay - sketches of london — Battersea Power Station 2023

On returning to England he received a number of portrait commissions and furthered his experience within the art world, working as an art technician at Christie’s Auctioneers. This environment provided great inspiration to explore and develop as an artist.

Henry grew up in a deeply artistic environment. His mother, Adrian Hamilton, was a muralist, raised in the unique space of Blarney castle where she learned to paint at the side of her great aunt Letitia “May“ Hamilton – the Irish Impressionist. Another aunt was married to the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Artistic flair and colour are very much in Henry’s blood.

Henry has exhibited and sold through a number of galleries participating in group and one man shows at The Royal Society of Portrait Painters at Christies,
Gallery 54 in Mayfair, The Piers Feetham Gallery, and The Chelsea Art Society.

He has been working as a full time artist for the last five years. This exhibition is a celebration of his life, living and working in London and depicts some of the great landmarks, of personal interest to him within in his locality.