Jack B. Yeats, Irish, 1871-1957
Title: Before the Start
Date: 1915
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
46 x 61 cm
Signed: lower right: Jack B. Yeats
Credit Line: Bequeathed, Mrs J. Egan, through the Friends of the National Collections of Ireland, 1960
Object Number: NGI.1549
ProvenanceVictor Waddington Galleries, London; Mrs Julia Egan, 1949; bequeathed, Mrs Julia Egan, through the Friends of the National Collections of Ireland, 1960
Exhibition HistoryBelfast, 1915
Oireachtas, Dundalk, 1915
Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 1915
Allied Artists' Association 8th Salon, Grafton Galleries, London, 1916
Drawings and Picture of Life in the West of Ireland, Mills Hall, Dublin, 23 March - 6 April 1918
Jack B. Yeats: Drawings and Picture of Life in the West of Ireland, Little Art Rooms, London, 31 May - 21 June 1919
Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 1921
Aonach, Dublin, 1922
Exposition, Olympic Games, Paris, June 1924
Autumn Exhibition, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Autumn 1927
World Fair, Chicago, 1933
A First Retrospective American Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, March 1951; Phillips Gallery, Washington; De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco; Springs Fine Arts Centre, Colorado; Toronto Art Gallery, Toronto; Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit; New York National Academy, New York 1951-1952
Friends of the National Collections of Ireland, Municipal Gallery of Art, Dublin; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 1964
National Collections of Ireland: Works Acquired for the Museums of Ireland, Municipal Gallery, Dublin, August - September 1964; Ulster Museum, Belfast, October - November 1964 Jack B. Yeats, 1871-1957: Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; Ulster Museum, Belfast; New York Cultural Centre, New York, 1971-1972
Aspects of Irish Art, a Loan Exhibition; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio, 27 January - 3 March 1974; Toledo Museum of Arts, Toledo, Ohio, 17 March - 14 April 1974; St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, Missouri, 3 May - 9 June 1974
Jack B. Yeats in the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 26 March - 20 April 1986
Lines of Vision. Irish Writers at the National Gallery of Ireland, 8 October 2014 —12 April 2015
Oireachtas, Dundalk, 1915
Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 1915
Allied Artists' Association 8th Salon, Grafton Galleries, London, 1916
Drawings and Picture of Life in the West of Ireland, Mills Hall, Dublin, 23 March - 6 April 1918
Jack B. Yeats: Drawings and Picture of Life in the West of Ireland, Little Art Rooms, London, 31 May - 21 June 1919
Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 1921
Aonach, Dublin, 1922
Exposition, Olympic Games, Paris, June 1924
Autumn Exhibition, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Autumn 1927
World Fair, Chicago, 1933
A First Retrospective American Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, March 1951; Phillips Gallery, Washington; De Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco; Springs Fine Arts Centre, Colorado; Toronto Art Gallery, Toronto; Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit; New York National Academy, New York 1951-1952
Friends of the National Collections of Ireland, Municipal Gallery of Art, Dublin; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 1964
National Collections of Ireland: Works Acquired for the Museums of Ireland, Municipal Gallery, Dublin, August - September 1964; Ulster Museum, Belfast, October - November 1964 Jack B. Yeats, 1871-1957: Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; Ulster Museum, Belfast; New York Cultural Centre, New York, 1971-1972
Aspects of Irish Art, a Loan Exhibition; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio, 27 January - 3 March 1974; Toledo Museum of Arts, Toledo, Ohio, 17 March - 14 April 1974; St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, Missouri, 3 May - 9 June 1974
Jack B. Yeats in the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 26 March - 20 April 1986
Lines of Vision. Irish Writers at the National Gallery of Ireland, 8 October 2014 —12 April 2015
Label TextHorseracing and the drama and narratives associated with it were a constant source of inspiration for Yeats. Many of the images he produced while earning a living as a sports reporter for London journals were of jockeys in the saddle. Around 1895, when he began to turn his attention to the west of Ireland, he was predictably drawn to Irish racing. In this small painting of three jockeys on their mounts, Yeats has focused his attention on a specific moment, recording the acute tension and high emotion that attended the start of a race.