Photo credit Glenn Dearing

Henrietta Graham

Henrietta Graham by Fanny Johnstone

Henrietta Graham is a representational painter based in the far south west of England.

Graham trained at Parsons School of Art in Paris and The Thomas Heatherly School of Fine Art in London.

Graham has produced numerous acclaimed series of works with her paintings seen in solo exhibitions in London and internationally in group shows. Selected and exhibited by The Royal Society of Portrait Painters, The Royal Society of Marine Artists (prizewinner), The National Portrait Gallery, London and Leighton House, London, many of Graham’s portraits are also held in private collections worldwide.

A fearless and energetic artist, Graham immerses herself in her chosen subjects, setting up her easel in abattoirs and restaurant kitchens, sketching on trawlers and in bullrings, always seeking to gain a deeper understanding of the worlds and realities that her subjects inhabit. Painting predominantly from her large windswept studio overlooking the historic Cornish fishing port of Newlyn, Graham paints with oils on canvas, and also mixed media.

Her Chefs series captured over 50 culinary luminaries who epitomised the meteoric rise of British cuisine during the past three decades, including the likes of Albert Roux OBE, Anthony Bourdain, Angela Hartnett MBE and Gordon Ramsay OBE. Graham’s accuracy of line and light, complex colour palettes and attention to detail provided the perfect match for her subjects’ culinary mastery, winning her both international acclaim and multiple awards. Shortlisted for the BP Portrait Awards 2014 for her portrait of chef James Martin, her portrait of John Williams MBE (then Head Chef of the Ritz and current Chairman of The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts) was also chosen to feature in the first cookbook ever produced by the Ritz.

Graham’s recent campaigning for fishermen’s rights lured politicians and international media to her adopted home of Cornwall which, as one of Britain’s biggest fish producers, had been hit hard by Brexit and Covid. The campaign resulted in a public art collaboration with Newlyn Pier & Harbour Commissioners, detailing the day-to-day lives of the local fishing community, and has been chosen to adorn Newlyn’s internationally renowned fish-market. The series is also a nod to The Newlyn School, Stanhope Forbes' pioneering 19th Century artist colony which, with its documentary style and emphasis on natural light, shares much in common with Graham’s work.

The enforced solitude of lockdown came in the wake of Henrietta’s diagnosis with breast cancer, and during her recovery she chose to work on a more tender series of paintings. Featuring dancers from the Rambert School of Ballet & Contemporary Dance and The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden dancing alongside mythical and maritime creatures, it is inspired by various threads of her life-story: from the art history taught her during her convent education, to her childhood travels with her father in Greece, her love of Renaissance and classical art from time spent painting in Paris and Italy, as well as a longstanding fascination with local marine ecology.

Always innovative, inquisitive and on the lookout for exciting adventures to propel her art, Graham is currently working on two new but as yet undisclosed series.  

Fanny Johnstone has written for the Guardian, Telegraph, Idler and Observer.