Jack Butler Yeats, R.H.A. (1871-1957)

The Gaffer

Details

Jack Butler Yeats, R.H.A. (1871-1957)
The Gaffer
stamped with monogram (lower left)
pencil, watercolour and bodycolour
14 x 10 in. (35.5 x 25.5 cm.)
Executed circa 1907

Provenance

Purchased by the present owner at the 1967 exhibition.

Literature

H. Pyle, Jack B. Yeats, His Watercolours, Drawings and Pastels, Dublin, 1993, no. 625, p. 153 (illustrated).

Exhibited

London, Victor Waddington, Jack B. Yeats Early Drawings and Watercolours, October-November 1967, no. 72 (illustrated).

Lot Essay

Hilary Pyle (loc. cit.) comments on the present work: 'A successful proprietor stands in front of his melodrama theatre, which has advertisements for various dramas, including The Shaughraun (by Boucicault) and The Corsican Brothers, pasted behind his head. It is a strong characterful portrait, half length, occupying the greater portion of the picture space. Yeats attended many performances of melodrama in London, Liverpool and Dublin during his youth, and melodrama plays an important part in his paintings and writings.'

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