Henry Heerup (November 4, 1907 - May 30, 1993) was a painter and sculptor born in Frederiksberg, Denmark. He studied painting under Axel Jørgensen and Einar Nielsen at the Royal Danish Academy of Art. He also studied sculpture there under Einar Utzon-Frank. He painted The Old Oak in Wolfvalley in 1924. This was his first oil painting.
Henry Heerup married Emilie Westh in 1933. During the 1930s he developed his trash sculptures. During the 1940s he became a member of Corner and Høst and exhibited with them.
In 1949 he joined Cobra and participated in some of their exhibitions. He developed an international reputation exhibiting across Europe and North America. A Year with Henry was made by Jens Jørgen Thorsen and Jørgen Roos and premiered in 1967. Heerup was appointed a Knight of Dannebrog in 1968.
On his passing in 1993, Henry Heerup was interred in the Assistens Kirkegård in the Nørrebro section of Copenhagen.
