Friends Fortnight 2026: Under the Yeatsian Spell - Robert Henri on Achill Island

This talk is part of our series of events for Friends Fortnight 2025, exclusively for Friends of the Gallery. 

Robert Henri was an American painter born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Having trained in Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and the Acadamie Julien in Paris, he befriended John Butler Yeats in New York in the late 19th Century. Henri later spent considerable time in Ireland, painting the people of Achill. This lecture by Jessica Sharkey, PhD Candidate at Trinity College Dublin, will look at the influence of Yeats and Achill on Henri’s work.

This screening is part of Friends Fortnight 2026, a two-week festival of inspiring events for Friends of the Gallery. Most events are free for Friends of the Gallery, and we have made tickets for some events available to non-members to purchase. 

How to take part

• Certain events are available to the general public, however to experience the full festival you must become a Friend of the National Gallery of Ireland. Anyone can become a Friend in minutes, online, over the phone, or in person in the Gallery. Become a member of the Friends today!
• Booking is required for all onsite events.
• Friends will also receive a special 15% discount in the Gallery Shop for the duration of the festival!