Olive Henry


Olive Henry was an Northern Irish artist known for her painting, photography and stained glass design.

Life and Work

Henry was born in Belfast in 1902. Following her studies at night classes in the Belfast School of Art she completed an apprenticeship at Clokey Stained Glass Studios, founded by Walter Francis Clokey. She worked for the firm for over fifty years designing stained glass windows.
In addition to her stained glass work Henry exhibited her paintings widely in the Oireachtas, Belfast Art Society, Royal Ulster Academy, Royal Hibernian Academy, the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, Watercolour Society of Ireland, Belfast Museum and Art Gallery and the National Society in London. She was a founding member, with Gladys Maccabe, of the Ulster Society of Women Artists and was president of the society from 1979 to 1981.
Henry had an interest in photography from an early age and won various awards for her photographs. She also wrote a column for Ameteur Photographer in the 1930s.
Her paintings are held in the collections of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Ulster Museum and the Royal Ulster Academy.