Jack Butler Yeats THE CENTRE OF A CITY (1948)
Lot 25
Price Realised: €90,000
Estimate: €80,000 - €120,000
Jack Butler Yeats RHA, 1871-1957 THE CENTRE OF A CITY (1948) Oil on board, 9" x 14" (22.8 x 35.6cm), signed; inscribed verso. Provenance: Victor Waddington Galleries: Acquired by F.L. Vickerman, 1950; Private Collection. Literature: '... Read more
Lot 25 - THE CENTRE OF A CITY (1948) by Jack Butler Yeats Lot 25 Jack Butler Yeats THE CENTRE OF A CITY (1948)
Estimate: €80,000 - €120,000
Jack Butler Yeats RHA, 1871-1957
THE CENTRE OF A CITY (1948)

Oil on board, 9" x 14" (22.8 x 35.6cm), signed; inscribed verso.
Provenance: Victor Waddington Galleries: Acquired by F.L. Vickerman, 1950; Private Collection.

Literature: 'Jack B Yeats - A Catalogue Raisonne of the Oil Paintings', by Hilary Pyle, Cat. no. 886 (p.802).

A man stands gazing at his watch. Behind him is an expanse of water, on the railings of which he leans. Hilary Pyle has identified the location as between Westmoreland Street and DOlier Street with the unmistakable silhouette of Nelsons Pillar on the horizon of the streetscape behind him. The figure is elaborately dressed with white gloves and a reddish brown scarf wound around his torso. Over this he wears a deep blue fitted coat. His face is carved out of thick impasto paint which captures the wide features of his face including his distinctive pensive expression. His brown hair is gently blown by the wind and his body is hunched over to one side as he leans on the railings, creating a strange pose.

This is undoubtedly based on a scene that Yeats encountered on one of his many sojourns into the city centre. The quays were one of Yeatss favourite parts of Dublin city and they reappear in several paintings including most famously Bachelors Walk, In Memory (1915, on loan to National Gallery of Ireland), and The Liffey Swim (1923, National Gallery of Ireland) as well as Young Men (1929, Private Collection), Crossing the City, (1929, Private Collection), and The Street in Shadow (1925, Private Collection) amongst others. Yeatss attention may have been drawn to the theatricality of the figure and his juxtaposition with the flowing waters of the Liffey and the distant streetscape of the quays and OConnell Street. Other figures can be deciphered from across the pink tones of the grimy river. The blue of the sky is thinly applied and its dominate cobalt tone is subtly harmonised throughout the composition by the dark browns and rosy tones of the buildings and monuments of the city. Touches of white, yellow and orange alleviate the palette such as the large undulating silvery lamp-post on the left of the figure, visible across the quaysides, and the warm orange tones of the muffled street lights on the other side of OConnell Bridge. This expressive and visceral painting of Dublin was acquired in 1950 from Yeatss dealer Victor Waddington by Frank Vickerman, a wool merchant and race horse owner, who was an important collector of the artists work, buying several of his most important paintings in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Risn Kennedy,October 2024

Sign-up to our auction alert

Signup for personalised Irish art recommendations, invitations to viewings and auctions, articles and more.
This website uses cookies. By using the site, you consent to the use of cookies in line with our privacy policy. Find out more OK, I understand