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Jack B. Yeats , Irish, 1871-1957

Title

For the Road

Date1951

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

61 × 92 cm

Signedlower right: Jack B. Yeats

Credit LinePresented, Mr. and Mrs. Frank L. Vickerman, 1978

Object numberNGI.4309

ProvenancePurchased through Victor Waddington Galleries, London, Mr and Mrs F. L. Vickerman, Dublin, March 1952; presented, Private Collection, 1978 Exhibition HistoryAn Tóstal: Irish Paintings 1903-1953, Municipal Gallery, Dublin, April - July 1953

Loan Collection, Mound Galleries, Edinburgh, 1957

Loan Collection, Town Hall, Sligo, 14-27 August 1961

Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte: La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, July - October 1962

Jack B. Yeats: A Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, September - December 1971; Cultural Centre, New York, April - June 1972

Jack B. Yeats in the National Gallery of Ireland, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 26 March - 20 April 1986

The Wandering Gaze, The Model, Home of the Niland Collection, Sligo, 06 July 2024 - 28 September 2024

Label TextYeats displayed a great affection for horses throughout his career. Horses feature prominently in his work, from his earliest watercolours of life in the west of Ireland to his later, more esoteric paintings. In this picture, a spectral horse gallops from the shadows of a wood towards a bright, distant opening, in which a figure in silhouette stands waiting. Skilfully foreshortened, the horse embodies freedom of movement, expressive energy and positive intent. An optimistic painting, it can be read as an allegory of life.