Lot Essay
''The Police Sergeant' and the following lots, 'The Minister' and 'The Country Gentleman' are from a series of twelve oils painted by Yeats as illustrations to 'Irishmen All' by George Birmingham. There are twelve chapters each describing an Irish type - official, exile, squireen, politician, shop assistant and so on, and Yeats provided a portrait for each chapter.
George Birmingham was the pseudonym of Canon James Owen Hannay (1865-1950), himself a priest of the Church of Ireland, and Rector of Westport, Co. Mayo, for a time. His humorous, often satirical novels about Irish life were not always well received, and disillusioned with the state of affairs in his country, he emigrated to England. His 'The Lighter Side of Irish Life' (1911) was illustrated with watercolours by the Scottish artist, Henry W. Kerr. 'Irishmen All' was a more serious book, assessing the officialdom of the major and minor professions in a satirical but not unkind way.
He found a sympathetic illustrator in Jack Yeats, who had been painting Irish characters, with similar satire, for a decade and who had already provided black and white drawings for several of George Birmingham's stories in 'A Celtic Christmas' over the years. Yeats seems to have received a list of chapter headings, with perhaps a summary of the author's intentions, and that was all. Neither saw the other's work beforehand yet the novelist wrote to the illustrator to express his delight at how well the illustrations and the text complimented each other.
Yeats' early oils were often of an illustrative character, like his watercolours so it is not surprising that he chose to do these illustrations in oil. He had abandoned watercolour at this date, and was to exhibit these works as independent paintings. The subject fitted perfectly with the theme he had been pursuing over the past fifteen years, 'Life in the West of Ireland', the title of the book of drawings of 1912, and the title under which he exhibited his paintings. Birmingham's Irishmen were drawn from all over the country, whereas Yeats' illustrations were rooted in the west he knew. 'The Politician' having the recognisable shape of Ben Bulben in the background'
(H. Pyle, Jack B Yeats in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1986, p.36-7)
'The Priest' from the same series is in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin and 'The Greater Official' and 'The Exile from Erin' were sold at Christie's, 9 June 1989 as lot 331 and 332 for 52,800 and 63,800 respectively
George Birmingham was the pseudonym of Canon James Owen Hannay (1865-1950), himself a priest of the Church of Ireland, and Rector of Westport, Co. Mayo, for a time. His humorous, often satirical novels about Irish life were not always well received, and disillusioned with the state of affairs in his country, he emigrated to England. His 'The Lighter Side of Irish Life' (1911) was illustrated with watercolours by the Scottish artist, Henry W. Kerr. 'Irishmen All' was a more serious book, assessing the officialdom of the major and minor professions in a satirical but not unkind way.
He found a sympathetic illustrator in Jack Yeats, who had been painting Irish characters, with similar satire, for a decade and who had already provided black and white drawings for several of George Birmingham's stories in 'A Celtic Christmas' over the years. Yeats seems to have received a list of chapter headings, with perhaps a summary of the author's intentions, and that was all. Neither saw the other's work beforehand yet the novelist wrote to the illustrator to express his delight at how well the illustrations and the text complimented each other.
Yeats' early oils were often of an illustrative character, like his watercolours so it is not surprising that he chose to do these illustrations in oil. He had abandoned watercolour at this date, and was to exhibit these works as independent paintings. The subject fitted perfectly with the theme he had been pursuing over the past fifteen years, 'Life in the West of Ireland', the title of the book of drawings of 1912, and the title under which he exhibited his paintings. Birmingham's Irishmen were drawn from all over the country, whereas Yeats' illustrations were rooted in the west he knew. 'The Politician' having the recognisable shape of Ben Bulben in the background'
(H. Pyle, Jack B Yeats in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1986, p.36-7)
'The Priest' from the same series is in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin and 'The Greater Official' and 'The Exile from Erin' were sold at Christie's, 9 June 1989 as lot 331 and 332 for 52,800 and 63,800 respectively