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Jack B. Yeats , Irish, 1871-1957

Title

Above the Fair

Date1946

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

91 x 122 cm

Signedlower left: Jack B. Yeats

Credit LinePresented, Reverend Senan, on behalf of a group of private citizens, 1947

Object numberNGI.1147

ProvenanceVictor Waddington Galleries; purchased, Revd Father Senan, OFM, Cap., 1947; presented, Reverend Senan, on behalf of a group of private citizens, 1947Exhibition HistoryJack B. Yeats: Paintings, Victor Waddington Galleries, Dublin, 1947

Jack B. Yeats: Loan Exhibition, Temple Newsam Gallery, Leeds; Tate Gallery, London, 1948

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

An Tóstal: Irish Paintings 1903-1953, Municipal Gallery, Dublin, April - July 1953

Jack B. Yeats: Paintures, Galerie Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1954

Jack B. Yeats: Paintings, Belfast Museum and Art Gallery, Belfast, 1956

XXXI Exposizione Biennale Internazionale d'Arte: Iralanda, Venice, 1962

Jack B. Yeats 1871-1957: A Centenary Exhibition, Dublin; New York, 1971-1972

Rosc Chorai 80: Irish Art, 1943-1973, Crawford Municipal Gallery, Cork; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 1980

Jack B. Yeats in the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1986

Label TextFairs were a regular source of inspiration for Yeats. For his early images of Irish fairs, he appears to have drawn heavily on his memory of travelling in north Mayo with his friend J.M. Synge. The title of this painting can be understood as a literal reference to the raised vantage point from which the scene is viewed, but is as likely to refer metaphorically to the golden-haired young boy on the horse to the left of centre, who has been elevated above, and liberated from, the crowds below.