拍品專文
'The Lesser Official' is 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, politician, priest 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 humourous, 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 (see H. Pyle, Jack B Yeats In the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin Exhibition Catalogue, 1986, p.p.36-7)
Five illustrations from this series have been sold in these Rooms in 1989 and 1992; 'The Greater Official', 'The Exile from Erin', 'The Police Sergeant', 'The Minister', and 'The Country Gentleman'
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 humourous, 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 (see H. Pyle, Jack B Yeats In the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin Exhibition Catalogue, 1986, p.p.36-7)
Five illustrations from this series have been sold in these Rooms in 1989 and 1992; 'The Greater Official', 'The Exile from Erin', 'The Police Sergeant', 'The Minister', and 'The Country Gentleman'