Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957)
By Drumcliffe Strand Long Ago (1934)
Oil on board, 23 x 35.5cm (9 x 14'')
Signed

Exhibited: Jack B. Yeats Exhibition, March/April 1936, Dunthorne Gallery,...

Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957)
By Drumcliffe Strand Long Ago (1934)
Oil on board, 23 x 35.5cm (9 x 14'')
Signed

Exhibited: Jack B. Yeats Exhibition, March/April 1936, Dunthorne Gallery, London, Catalogue No.33; Winter Exhibition, Leger Gallery London, February 1946, Catalogue No.100, where purchased by Lord Killanin.

Provenance: Originally in the collection of novelist and art collector Sir Hugh Walpole. Bought at the Leger 1946 by Lord Killanin, and thence by descent to the current owner.

Literature: Jack B. Yeats Catalogue Raisonne, Catalogue No.451, page 4, Vol.1

In this work Yeats evokes the romance and adventure that he associated with Co. Sligo since his childhood. Drumcliffe with its rich mythological and historical connections presented endless possibilities for the imagination. The painting depicts an encounter between a dark skinned gentleman and a beautiful young woman. Behind the female figure a dark parasol-like form adds an exotic note. It is also reminiscent of the covered market stalls of the west of Ireland depicted in so many of Yeats other works. It displaces the couple who are pushed to one side of the composition thus reinforcing the intimacy of their exchange. Their costumes are formal and theatrical, particularly that of the man in his flamboyant white cravat. Behind the vivacious figures, the straight line of the horizon and the expanse of sea provide a static backdrop. The water is also a potent symbol of other lands and places. In contrast to this the foreground is painted in thick impasto with dark specks of paint at the forefront. This rich physicality of surface dissipates the old-fashioned nature of the subject.

The painting belonged to the novelist Hugh Walpole who acquired it shortly before his death. It subsequently belonged to Lord Killanin and has remained in his family since 1946.

Dr Roisin Kennedy
May 2016

 

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