Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957)
Winning the Race (c.1894-1896)
Pencil, pen, ink and colour wash, 12 x 30cm (4¾ x 11¾'')
Stamped with monogram

Provenance: With Theo Waddington; Private...

Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957)
Winning the Race (c.1894-1896)
Pencil, pen, ink and colour wash, 12 x 30cm (4¾ x 11¾'')
Stamped with monogram

Provenance: With Theo Waddington; Private Collection

Exhibited: 'The Life and Time of Ireland by Jack B. Yeats', Dublin, September 2008; 'Father and Son - Paintings, Watercolours and Drawings by John Butler and Jack B. Yeats', Waddington Gallery, London May 2009, Catalogue No.10.

 

This early watercolour juxtaposes two different aspects of equestrian sport, separated by an emblem of interlocking horseshoes, whips, crops and a correct and fixtures card. On the left two horses and their jockeys battle it out to cross the finish line first. A mesmerised crowd stands transfixed behind them. To the right in a more delicate scene, an elegantly attired horsewoman exchanges pleasantries with a red-coated companion at the balustrade of a country house. The two appear to be discussing the forthcoming hunt. The contrasting pace of each scene is humorously conveyed through the little dog which appears in both. The model for this hound is Yeats's much loved pet, Hooligan, who appears in many of his sketchbooks and drawings of the 1890s and whom the artist acquired in 1894 shortly after his marriage to Cottie.

 

Both illustrations reveal the artist's remarkable ability to observe and to convey through line the physical attributes of tension and poise in people, horses and dogs. It also transmits an insightful and humorous view of late 19th century English society and its attitude to the horse. While the work was never published, its origins lie in Yeats's work as a cartoonist for London based periodicals, such as Paddock Life, to which he contributed equestrian based illustrations from 1891. Winning the Race, dated to the mid 1890s, belongs to a period when Yeats was developing his interest in watercolour and beginning to focus on his career as a fine artist. Its subtlety of finish and of mood distinguishes it from his black and white contributions to graphic journals.

 

Dr. Roisin Kennedy

 

View more View less