Jack B. Yeats

Illustration by Jack B. Yeats from A Boy in Eirinn by Colum.

Illustration by Jack B. Yeats from A Boy in Eirinn by Colum.This edition was published in Londom by J.M.Dent&Sons and was dedicated to P.H.Pearse.

Illustration by Jack B. Yeats from A Boy in Eirinn by Colum.

Illustration by Jack B. Yeats from A Boy in Eirinn by Colum.

Illustration by Jack B. Yeats from A Boy in Eirinn by Colum.This edition was published in Londom by J.M.Dent&Sons and was dedicated to P.H.Pearse.

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Jack Butler Yeats was one of the most important Irish artists during the 20th century. He first worked as a graphic artist and cartoonist. However, he is most famous for his paintings of everyday life in Ireland.

He also enjoyed painting scenes from mythology. Following the War of Independence in the early 20th century, many artists painted scenes from Irish life.  

Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition 1960

Informal photograph of Thomas MacGreevy with painter Jack B. Yeats and friends at the Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition in 1960.MacGreevy and Yeats were close friends

Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition 1960

Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition 1960

Informal photograph of Thomas MacGreevy with painter Jack B. Yeats and friends at the Royal Hibernian Academy Exhibition in 1960.MacGreevy and Yeats were close friends

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Yeats was born in London in 1871 and studied at the Westminster School of Art in London. His father was the Irish portrait artist John Butler Yeats. The Nobel Prize poet William Butler Yeats was his brother. His two sisters were also well known artists, Elizabeth Corbet Yeats and Susan Mary Yeats.

His niece Anne Butler Yeats became a famous painter and theatre designer. She was William Butler Yeats' daughter.

 

George Moore by John Butler Yeats

National Gallery of Ireland

George Moore by John Butler Yeats
National Gallery of Ireland

George Moore by John Butler Yeats

National Gallery of Ireland

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The Young Pádraic Colum, by John Butler Yeats

This 1907 sketch of the young Pádraic Colum is by the artist John Butler Yeats. It is included in the first edition of Colum's play, The Fiddler's House, printed in 1909 in Dublin, by Maunsel & Company.

The Young Pádraic Colum, by John Butler Yeats

The Young Pádraic Colum, by John Butler Yeats

This 1907 sketch of the young Pádraic Colum is by the artist John Butler Yeats. It is included in the first edition of Colum's play, The Fiddler's House, printed in 1909 in Dublin, by Maunsel & Company.

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Jack B. Yeats lived in London and Devon before moving to Ireland. He died on 28th March, 1957. Some of his work can be viewed at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. Many pieces of art from the other members of the Yeats family are also at the National Gallery.