Jack Butler Yeats

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Yeats, Jack Butler (1871–1957). The best-known Irish painter of the 20th century, born in London, the son of John Butler Yeats (1839–1922), a barrister who became an unremarkable but successful portrait painter, and brother of the celebrated poet William Butler Yeats. He had an idyllic childhood in Sligo, his ancestral home on the north-west coast of Ireland, and studied at various art schools in London, notably Westminster School of Art under Fred Brown. From 1910 he lived in Dublin. Early in his career he worked mainly as an illustrator; he did his first oil paintings in about 1897 (the year of his first one-man exhibition in London), but he did not work regularly in the medium until about 1905. The subjects he painted included Celtic myth and everyday Irish life (including scenes of fairs and horse races), and through these he contributed to the upsurge of nationalist feeling in the arts that accompanied the movement for Irish independence. His early work as a painter was influenced by the French Impressionist pictures he saw in the collection of Hugh Lane, but in the 1920s he developed a more personal Expressionist style characterized by high-keyed 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). Yeats has many admirers, but some critics think that his late paintings often degenerate into a muddy mess. He was immensely prolific, producing more than 1,000 paintings and a great many drawings. His work is represented in numerous galleries in Ireland, notably the National Gallery and the Hugh Lane Gallery of Modern art in Dublin and the Sligo County Museum and Art Gallery, which has material relating also to his father and brother. There are also numerous examples in the USA, where he has long been popular. 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).

Yeats, Jack B. (1871–1957), painter of genre scenes and subject pictures, usually regarded as the most important Irish painter of his generation. The son of the painter John Butler Yeats (1839–1922) and brother of William Butler Yeats, he was brought up in Sligo, but educated at the South Kensington, Chiswick, and Westminster schools of art in London. In 1888, in London, he began working as an illustrator on numerous journals, but in 1897 moved to Devon and began painting in watercolours and, later, in oils. In 1905 he toured the west of Ireland gathering material for illustrations to Synge's The Aran Islands, and in 1910 settled permanently in Ireland. Thereafter he exhibited regularly in Dublin and occasionally in London, New York, and elsewhere. He was elected a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1916. Typically Yeats worked from what he termed ‘a pool of memories’, from 1915 till the early 1920s recording many of the momentous events taking place in Ireland. In the mid‐1920s he turned his attention upon the inner world of thoughts and feelings, but his subject matter was still drawn from the life around him. An individualist, his work from the 1930s and later became increasingly Expressionist in technique, his imagery enigmatic in appearance but often conveying an intense humanity.

Bibliography

Arnold, Bruce , Jack Yeats (1998)

S. B. Kennedy

Yeats, Jack Butler (b London, 29 Aug. 1871; d Dublin, 28 Mar. 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).

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).

Yeats, Jack B. (1871–1957). Painter. Brother of W. B. Yeats the poet, Jack Yeats became the best-known Irish painter of his day. He was born in London, son of a good portrait painter, and attended (sometimes) the Westminster School of Art. He began as a water-colourist and illustrator before turning to oils. Most of his life was spent in Ireland, his family originating from Sligo, about which he published in 1930. He collaborated with J. M. Synge. Yeats's work is characterized by the boldness of its drawing and the vigour of its colours. Perhaps his most immediately attractive paintings are his sketches of Irish characters, painted with gentle irony—the Race Card Seller (1909), the Lesser Official (1913), and the Steam-boat Captain (1925).

J. A. Cannon

Yeats, Jack B. (1871–1957). Painter. Brother of W. B. Yeats the poet, Jack Yeats became the best‐known Irish painter of his day. He was born in London, son of a good portrait painter, and attended (sometimes) the Westminster School of Art. He began as a water‐colourist and illustrator before turning to oils. Most of his life was spent in Ireland, his family originating from Sligo, about which he published in 1930.

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).