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Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957) Engravings (1943) Oil on canvas, 35.5 x 46cm (14 x 18'') Signed Provenance: Purchased at the 1943 exhibition by well known collector Jack Toohey; Sold in these...
Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957) Engravings (1943) Oil on canvas, 35.5 x 46cm (14 x 18'') Signed Provenance: Purchased at the 1943 exhibition by well known collector Jack Toohey; Sold in these rooms 15th March 1989, Lot 94 Exhibited: 'Later Paintings' Jack B. Yeats Exhibition, Victor Waddington Gallery, Nov. 1943, Cat. No. 13; 'National Loan Exhibition' June/July 1945, Cat. No. 125 Literature: 'Jack B. Yeats: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings' Hilary Pyle, Vol. 1 Cat. No. 561 p515 In this painting a smartly dressed woman wearing an apron appears to be in the process of tidying a drawing room. The black door behind her is slightly ajar, suggesting that she has just entered the room. Her attention has been caught by the framed engravings which cover the wall in front of her. Although her face is turned away her profile conveys her delight and engrossment in the images. The work plays on several devices. Firstly we gaze at the woman as she gazes at the engravings, creating a strange circuitous route through the work. Secondly the curtained window appears like a frame around the female figure, reminding us that she also is an image. Thirdly the work draws on the contrast between the formal black and white of the engravings and of the decor of the room and the colourful elements of the window, the carpet and the female figure. The vibrant floor and the glimpse of nature through the window compliment the figure, flooding the otherwise monochrome space with vivid colour. The blonde hair of the woman and her deep red blouse and green skirt emphasise her vivacity. Yeats frequently took note of engravings and paintings hanging in houses or hotels that he visited. They appear in a number of his oil paintings including The Breakfast Room 1944, (Private Collection) in which a lone figure stands in a room the walls of which are covered in artworks. His 1936 painting, About to Write a Letter, (National Gallery of Ireland) again depicts a single figure in a space filled with paintings and prints. In this work the same deep red and green of the woman's clothes in Engravings are used extensively, suggesting a connection between the two paintings. The use of prints or paintings within paintings in all these works highlights the isolation of the figure where the artworks convey missing companions or memories of past events. In Engravings the framed prints suggest a forgotten time which is brought to life by the unexpected intrusion of the woman into their space. Dr. Roisin Kennedy, October 2012
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