Jack B Yeats

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Jack B. Yeats

Jack Butler Yeats is one of the great Irish artists of the 20th century. He was born in London on the 29th August 1871 the youngest of what would be 4 surviving children.
He had a brother (William Butler Yeats the poet) and 2 sisters. His father John
Butler Yeats was also an artist as well as being a barrister. He painted portraits of
both his sons.
Jack lived in England for the early part of his life before moving to Ireland. While in London he studied at several art schools. He enjoyed writing as well although he is known for his art work. He painted in watercolours and during the later part of his career, mostly in oil.
He kept small sketch books of various sketches he had made when he was out and
about. These he would use for ideas for his paintings. He also illustrated journals and various publications. He married Mary Cottenham White in 1894 she was also an
artist and was known as "Cottie"
One of his most famous works was The Liffey Swim which shows the annual swim in
the river Liffey, Dublin. It was painted in 1923 and exhibited a year later at the 1924 Paris Olympic Exposition. The painting is now in the National Gallery of Ireland.
He did quite a few paintings of horses. One of my favourite paintings of his is The
Singing Horseman. The colours are so effective and the golden yellowy horse looks as though he is enjoying himself. Yeats liked to paint what was happening around him.
So he painted fairs, the races and circuses. Many of his later paintings demand that
you study them hard. For the longer you look the more you can see and figure out.
Jack B. Yeats died in Dublin on the 28th March 1957.

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