Jack B. Yeats
, Irish, 1871-1957
Title
Above the FairDate1946
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, 1947Jack 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.