Jack Butler Yeats

Yeats, Jack Butler

Yeats, Jack Butler (1871–1957). The best-known Irish painter of the 20th century, son of John Butler Yeats (1839–1922), a barrister who became a successful portrait painter, and brother of the poet William Butler Yeats. Initially he worked mainly as an illustrator and did not regularly paint in oils until about 1905. His subjects included Celtic myth and everyday Irish life, through which he contributed to the upsurge of nationalist feeling in the arts that accompanied the movement for Irish independence. His early paintings were influenced by French Impressionism, but he then developed a more personal Expressionistic style characterized by vivid colour and extremely loose brushwork (there is some similarity to the work of Kokoschka, who became a great friend in the last decade of Yeats's life). Although he has many admirers, some critics think that his late paintings often degenerate into a muddy mess. Yeats was a writer as well as a painter—the author of several plays, novels, and volumes of poetry, as well as Life in the West of Ireland (1912) and Sligo (1930).

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IAN CHILVERS. "Yeats, Jack Butler." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Jack Butler Yeats

Jack Butler Yeats , 1871–1957, Irish painter, son of the painter John Butler Yeats and brother of the poet William Butler Yeats . He began his career as an illustrator and produced his first oils in 1915, choosing literary subjects. His Irish seascapes and landscapes are notable for their loose, spontaneous brush work.

Bibliography: See biography by B. Arnold (1998).

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"Jack Butler Yeats." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Jack Butler Yeats." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Yeats-Ja.html

"Jack Butler Yeats." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Yeats-Ja.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Successful picture of brothers in arts; Jack Yeats. By Bruce Arnold (Yale:...
Newspaper article from: The Birmingham Post (England); 10/10/1998
The contents of Jack B Yeats' studio draw [euro]25k at auction.(News)
Newspaper article from: Daily Mail (London); 5/31/2011
Brotherly shove for Yeats' pics.(News)
Newspaper article from: Sunday Mirror (London, England); 11/2/2008

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