Charade

Details

JACK BUTLER YEATS, R.H.A. (1871-1957)
Charade
signed ‘JACK B YEATS’ (lower left), inscribed ‘CHARADE’ (on the reverse)
oil on board
14 x 18 in. (35.5 x 46 cm.)
Painted in 1951.

Provenance

Miss Madeleine Rampling.
Her sale; Christie’s London, 12 November 1965, lot 189, where purchased by the present owner.

Literature

H. Pyle, Jack B. Yeats: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, Vol. II, London, 1992, p. 1001, no. 1099, illustrated.
H. Pyle, Jack B. Yeats: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, Vol. III, London, 1992, p. 555, no. 1099, illustrated.

Exhibited

New York, Seidenberg Galleries, Jack B. Yeats: Paintings, January – March 1953, no. 13.
Dublin, Victor Waddington Galleries, Jack B. Yeats: Oil Paintings, February 1955, no. 2.
Belfast, Belfast Museum and Art Gallery, Jack B. Yeats: Paintings, February – March 1956, no. 45.
London, Waddington Galleries, Jack Butler Yeats: Later Works, March – April 1958, no. 14.

Special notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent. This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Alice Murray Head of Evening Sale

amurray@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2423

Lot Essay

During the last decade of his life, Yeats painted some of his most lyrical paintings, many of which focus on memories and dreams as the artist reached old age. The present work is described by Hilary Pyle, 'the oil scene, focused on a girl on stage in a mist posing theatrically, watched by a man on the right and other enigmatic figures, has the atmosphere of a dream'.

Yeats was fascinated by the theatre and the art of performance, and often depicts a young woman on a stage, singing or acting, with an admiring audience set around her. In the present work, an actress in a brilliant blue costume is posing in a highly charged, theatrical setting. An accomplished performer, she is enjoying her time in the spotlight as she flirts from the stage with the audience before her.

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