James "Jim" Michael Henry's Obituary
James "Jim" Michael Henry died Sunday, June 22, 2025, after many years of facing down and valiantly overcoming numerous health challenges.
He was born on July 4, 1959, in Glen Falls, New York, to Gertrude and Wilbur Henry. Jim grew up with three older sisters. In his early years, Jim developed a lasting love for skiing, tennis and hunting, but it was while a student State University of New York (SUNY) Adirondack that a roommate introduced him to the idea of becoming a professional artist as the two collaborated on a venture producing graphic tee shirts. Jim later graduated from SUNY Albany with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
After college, Jim lived in Washington, DC, and Atlanta, GA, where he further developed his art practice. Fascinated by printmaking, he mimicked aspects of it, such as uneven registers at the edges of images and enabling underlying colors to show through and illuminate overlaid layers of paint. Jim honed a variety of unusual techniques—using grinders, sandpaper, hair dryers, and scrapers—that allowed him to manipulate multiple layers of paint to achieve compelling effects. His critical reputation grew, and galleries and collectors clamored for his work.
In the late 1980s, Jim returned to upstate New York, where he met his former wife, Trish Henry. The couple moved to North Carolina, and in 1995, they welcomed their daughter Alison, who instantly became her father’s favorite person. Nothing delighted Jim more than sharing a laugh with Alison, fostering her love of the natural world, and coaching her in soccer and tennis.
As Jim’s artistic career continued to build, his health declined, and in 1995 he was diagnosed with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, a rare and progressive lung disease, which would eventually require him to undergo a double-lung transplant. The family moved to Charlottesville, VA, in 2004 for the expertise of the University of Virginia (UVA) pulmonologists and transplant center.
Despite his grim prognosis, Jim continued to paint, becoming a resident artist at Charlottesville’s McGuffey Art Center, where he found a supportive community of artists and friends. In 2012, he received donor lungs, which he wholeheartedly embraced by returning to playing tennis, hunting, and participating in other physical endeavors. Jim remained eternally grateful for the renewed life granted to him by the anonymous donor and sustained by UVA Health.
When Jim and Trish amicably parted ways in 2016, he purchased an old warehouse in Lawrenceville, VA (“the village of Larrys”), where he established a studio. Although he suffered ongoing health setbacks, Jim continued to explore new ideas in his paintings and enjoyed other endeavors such as buying and selling artwork at auction, delving into his family’s genealogy (including the discovery of half-sister Anne Corbin), and colorizing old photos and creating narratives for them to amuse himself and friends.
Jim’s loved ones and friends will remember him for his relentless sense of humor, devotion to literature, and love of antiquated slang. Although he reveled in tomfoolery, he did not suffer fools easily, hating jargon-laden art criticism and rolling his eyes at “dodgy” artists who were “shysters” when it came to technique. Although Jim maintained the façade of being a curmudgeon, he will also be remembered as a generous celebrant and promoter of artists.
Jim is survived by his daughter, Alison; her mother, Trish; niece, Stacey Mower; nephew, Rob (Shannon) Mower; many cousins in Pennsylvania and New York; McDonnell relatives; and countless artist friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and beloved sister, Pam Mower.
Jim’s paintings remain in numerous permanent collections, and Alison is now the agent for his remaining artwork. A retrospective exhibition is being planned for February 2026 at McGuffery Art Center in Charlottesville, VA.
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