William John Hennessy, Irish American, 1839 to 1917, mixed media, pencil, pen and ink with wash heightened with white, painting on paper depicting a scene with young ladies and a peacock in the garden. Signed lower left. Inscribed in pencil on the back. William John Hennessy was born in Thomastown, County Kilkenny in 1839. He gained admittance to the National Academy of Design in 1854 and exhibitioned his first works there. Hennessy was very skilled in wood engraving and was hired to illustrate the works of renowned poets, including that of Tennyson, Longfellow and Whittier. As an American he became the co-founder of the Artists' Fund Society, and an honorary member of the American Society of Painters in Watercolours. One of a kind artwork.