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John Butler Yeats , Irish, 1839-1922

Title

John Millington Synge (1871-1909), Playwright

Date1905

MediumGraphite on paper

Dimensions

31.6 x 25 cm

Signedleft centre: JBYeats 1905

Credit LinePurchased, 1932

Object numberNGI.2937

DescriptionThis powerful study of Synge, inscribed January 1905, is probably a preliminary sketch for the oil portrait commissioned by Hugh Lane (c.1905; Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane). It is also similar to the painting of the playwright dated April 1905 in the Abbey Theatre collection. The Lane painting, which JBY kept altering and never finished, lacks the delicate touch and finesse inherent in this informal sketch. Synge is portrayed in a casual, relaxed pose, resting his head against the wall behind him, absorbed in thought. The rest of the three-quarter-length figure is sketched in freely and shaded with loose cross-hatching.
ProvenancePurchased, Coole Park, Lady Gregory Sale, 1932Exhibition HistoryW.B. Yeats: A Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1965

Drawings from the National Gallery of Ireland, London; New York, 1967

Paintings and Drawings by John Butler Yeats from the Collection of Senator Michael B. Yeats and the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1972

The Abbey Theatre 1904-1979, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1979-1980

At a Glance - Portraits by John Butler Yeats, National Gallery of Ireland, 24 October 2015 - 17 January 2016
Label TextThis powerful study of Synge, inscribed January 1905, is probably a preliminary sketch for the oil portrait commissioned by Hugh Lane (c.1905; Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane). It is also similar to the painting of the playwright dated April 1905 in the Abbey Theatre collection. The Lane painting, which JBY kept altering and never finished, lacks the delicate touch and finesse inherent in this informal sketch. Synge is portrayed in a casual, relaxed pose, resting his head against the wall behind him, absorbed in thought. The rest of the three-quarter-length figure is sketched in freely and shaded with loose cross-hatching.