John Butler Yeats
, Irish, 1839-1922
Title
Portrait of Rosa Butt (d.1926)Date1900
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
92 x 71 cm
Signedupper right: J.B. Yeats, 1900
Credit LinePresented, Sir William Ball, 1960
Object numberNGI.1724
DescriptionRosa Butt, daughter of the Home Rule politician Isaac Butt, had been friends with JBY for many years before he painted this affectionate portrait of her in October 1900. He wrote; ‘When painting you I never knew a moment of fatigue mental or physical’ and ‘I wish those sittings had lasted one week longer.’ When Yeats’s wife Susan died in January 1900 he embarked upon a long and intimate friendship with Butt conducted mainly through correspondence. After Rosa Butt’s death in 1926, a cache of his letters to her was discovered. Her cousin, the artist Mary Swanzy, presented them to the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on the condition that they remained private until 1979.ProvenancePresented, Sir William Ball, 1960Exhibition HistoryRoyal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 1901
W.B. Yeats: A Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1965
1916 Jubilee Exhibition, St Joseph's Hall, Nenagh, 1966
John Butler Yeats and the Irish Renaissance, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1972
Lines of Vision. Irish Writers at the National Gallery of Ireland, 8 October 2014 —12 April 2015
At a Glance - Portraits by John Butler Yeats, National Gallery of Ireland, 24 October 2015 - 17 January 2016
Label TextRosa Butt, daughter of the Home Rule politician Isaac Butt, had been friends with JBY for many years before he painted this affectionate portrait of her in October 1900. He wrote; ‘When painting you I never knew a moment of fatigue mental or physical’ and ‘I wish those sittings had lasted one week longer.’ When Yeats’s wife Susan died in January 1900 he embarked upon a long and intimate friendship with Butt conducted mainly through correspondence. After Rosa Butt’s death in 1926, a cache of his letters to her was discovered. Her cousin, the artist Mary Swanzy, presented them to the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on the condition that they remained private until 1979.Label TextRosa Butt was the daughter of the Home Rule politician Isaac Butt. When John Butler Yeats’s wife died he began a long and intimate correspondence with Butt. She and Yeats had been friends for many years when he painted this affectionate portrait. He wrote: ‘When painting you I never knew a moment of fatigue mental or physical’. Yeats suggested they destroy their correspondence on receipt and certainly no letters from Butt to him survive. After her death in 1926, a cache of his letters was found. Her cousin, the artist Mary Swanzy, presented them to the Bodleian Library, Oxford.