Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957)
Talk (Egglers) (1905)
Watercolour, 26.5 x 36.5cm (10½ x 14¼")
Signed

Provenance: With Victor Waddington, London; N.Bernstein, Dublin; Private Collection,...

Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957)
Talk (Egglers) (1905)
Watercolour, 26.5 x 36.5cm (10½ x 14¼")
Signed

Provenance: With Victor Waddington, London; N.Bernstein, Dublin; Private Collection, Dublin.

Exhibited: London, Baillie’s Gallery, February/March 1905, cat.no.69; Dublin, Leinster Hall, 1905, cat.no.18; London, Waddington Galleries, 1961 as Talk.

Literature: Studio162 (July 1961) 27 (repro); Hilary Pyle, Jack B. Yeats: His Watercolours, Drawings and Pastels, Irish Academic Press, 1993, cat.no. 552, illus.

 

Yeats’s painting was first exhibited at the show, Sketches of life in the West of Ireland at Leinster Hall, Molesworth Street, Dublin in 1905 and in London the same year. It depicts two men in a darkened interior. Their heads are close together and one is whispering into his companion’s ear. A distinctly conspiratorial tone is evoked. A contemporary reviewer in 1905 described the figures as ‘typical countrymen … bargaining or preparing to bargain’. The enclosed interior is contrasted by the open view to the left through which a streetscape and shop front is evident. This introduces light and colour into the composition and reinforces the sense of claustrophobia and menace embodied in the two men. The pencil marks of the under drawing are visible in the outlines of the mens’ features alongside the dark brown of the watercolour. White paint is used to highlight the contours of the faces. The figure on the right bears a resemblance to Jack B. Yeats who may have used himself as a model in the work.

The original title of the painting was Egglers. Egglers were men who dealt in eggs, an industry that was dominated by women in the Ireland of their day. The period in which this work was painted saw major attempts by the government through the Congested Districts Board and by the Irish Agriculture Organisation Society to regulate the poultry industry. The IAOS paid high prices for eggs from Irish countrywomen in order to counteract the activities of the egglers or gombeenmen whose dealing had a negative impact on the price of this important commodity, as well as affecting the income of many Irish women who depended on the sale of eggs and a fair price for the produce. Like many of Yeats’s other watercolour paintings, this work explores in a humorous manner an important aspect of life in contemporary Ireland. Its exaggerated use of colour and form make this a highly original and expressive painting. As another reviewer noted, ‘everyone who takes an interest in art, and good and rugged art at that, should look in at Jack B. Yeats’s art in Molesworth Street.’

Dr Roisin Kennedy, May 2022

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