John Butler Yeats
, Irish, 1839-1922
Title
Portrait of Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957) as a BoyDatec. 1883-1884
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
61 x 51 cm
Credit LinePresented, Mr Jack B. Yeats, 1947
Object numberNGI.1142
DescriptionJBY had a gift for child portraiture. This half-length portrait, fluidly painted in light tones, reveals his growing interest in the work of Whistler. He skilfully captures his younger son’s innocent, yet independent spirit. Jack spent most of his youth in Sligo with his maternal grandparents, the Pollexfens. In London he attended the School of Art at South Kensington, the Chiswick Art School in Bedford Park, and the Westminster School. JBY’s later painting of Jack aged eighteen or nineteen was done in Bedford Park, where the Yeats family settled in 1888. (1890; NGI.4040)ProvenancePresented, Mr Jack B. Yeats, 1947Exhibition HistoryRoyal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 1883
Irish Exhibition, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1951
W.B. Yeats: A Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1965
Jack B. Yeats and his Family, Sligo; Dublin, 1971
John Butler Yeats and the Irish Renaissance, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1972
At a Glance - Portraits by John Butler Yeats, National Gallery of Ireland, 24 October 2015 - 17 January 2016
Label TextJBY had a gift for child portraiture. This half-length portrait, fluidly painted in light tones, reveals his growing interest in the work of Whistler. He skilfully captures his younger son’s innocent, yet independent spirit. Jack spent most of his youth in Sligo with his maternal grandparents, the Pollexfens. In London he attended the School of Art at South Kensington, the Chiswick Art School in Bedford Park, and the Westminster School. JBY’s later painting of Jack aged eighteen or nineteen was done in Bedford Park, where the Yeats family settled in 1888. (1890; NGI.4040)