Jack Butler Yeats | Items for sale, auction results & history

Jack Butler Yeats was one of the most prominent Irish painters of the 20th century. His lyrical style captured everyday life in Ireland, including market crowds, fisherman on coasts and Dublin’s drinkers.

Born in 1871, he was the younger brother of poet William Butler Yeats, and the son of portrait painter John Butler Yeats and Susan Yeats. Though he was born in London, the artist grew up at his grandparents' house in Sligo in the West of Ireland, with this landscape later influencing his artistic style.

Initially, Yeats worked as an illustrator for newspapers and magazines before he moved to oil painting in the early 20th century. The artist’s paintings from this period adopted the realist approach of his previous illustrative works, with strong outlines, clear forms and a muted palette.

Yeats's artistic style later became more Expressionist, shifting his works to capture the spirit of Ireland as opposed to individual characters. With this stylistic change, Yeats began to use vivid colours and broad brushstrokes in his work. Paintings such as The Liffey Swim (1923) showcased the artist’s focus on capturing the atmosphere and energy of a scene, which immersed the viewer within an artwork.

Yeats documented the Irish Civil War through his paintings, with The Funeral of Harry Boland (1922) and Communicating with Prisoners (c. 1924) depicting Dublin during this period. Though several of Yeats’s works portrayed real-life events, memory and mysticism also featured prominently in his pieces — the artist once noted, ‘No one creates. The artist assembles memories.’

Yeats and his wife, Mary Cottenham Yeats, were influential figures in Ireland’s art and literary scene. Together, they held Thursday afternoon salons at their apartment in Dublin. It was at one of those salons where Yeats met writer Samuel Beckett — of the artist's 'half-memory' paintings, Beckett said, ‘Tell Jack Yeats he had lit a fire that will spread’.

Yeats was also a writer himself, publishing several novels, plays and poetry collections during his lifetime. The artist died in 1957, leaving behind a legacy as one of Ireland’s most celebrated artists. His work is held in numerous collections including the National Gallery of Ireland, Hugh Lane Gallery and the Irish Museum of Modern Art.