Click on image to open full size.
John Butler Yeats (1839 - 1922)
Portrait of Maire Nic Shiubhlaigh
Gouache, 49 x 39cm (19¼ x 15¼")
Signed
Provenance: Jorgensen Gallery, Dublin (label verso)
John Butler Yeats painted...
John Butler Yeats (1839 - 1922)
Portrait of Maire Nic Shiubhlaigh
Gouache, 49 x 39cm (19¼ x 15¼")
Signed
Provenance: Jorgensen Gallery, Dublin (label verso)
John Butler Yeats painted portraits of the Abbey actress and Republican activist, Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh several times the best known of which is in the collection of The National Gallery of Ireland and is the one thought to have hung in the lobby of the Abbey Theatre when Nic Shiubhlaigh played the named role of Kathleen Ni Houlihan in W.B. Yeats play which opened the Abbey Theatre in December 1904. This portrait is thought to be the friendship portrait he did of her at Gurteen Dhas (Mentioned in Prodigal Father (P298) ) where she worked with his daughters, Lily and Lolly Yeats in The Embroidery Room.
Nic Shiubhlaigh was born into an Irish speaking Nationalist family. She was a member of the Gaelic League and later joined the revolutionary womens group Inghinidhe na hÉireann where they presented plays as part of the 1901 Feis where they were spotted by George Russell and W.B. Yeats. Together with these two playrights , Douglas Hyde and Maud Gonne Máire was one of the founders of The Abbey Theatre where she became the principal actress for a time until a fallout over wages happened in 1905 around the time this portrait is thought to have been painted.
She was a friend of Thomas MacDonagh and joined him along with other members of Cumann na mBan at Bolands Mill during the 1916 Easter Rising where she administered first aid, organised the catering and stayed until just before the surrender when MacDonagh asked the ladies to leave to avoid arrest.
All bids are placed in Euros (€)
Please note that by submitting a bid you are agreeing to our Terms & Conditions