{"id":338341,"date":"2026-03-10T07:09:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T07:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/338341\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T07:09:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T07:09:17","slug":"jack-b-yeatss-home-studio-paintboxes-brushes-and-watercolours-for-sale-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/338341\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack B Yeats\u2019s home studio paintboxes, brushes and watercolours for sale \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a quiet fascination among the public about how painters and sculptors work, and what they surround themselves with. Although many contemporary artists<\/a> might say that the chaotic contents of the London studio of Dublin<\/a>-born artist Francis Bacon<\/a> \u2013 which were transported and reinstalled in the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin in 1998 \u2013 aren\u2019t a fair representation of an artist\u2019s studio, the Bacon studio nonetheless attracts a lot of attention. <\/p>\n

Most artists are collectors of sorts and while works in progress will be prominent in their studios, their working spaces are also repositories of various inspirational objects and images, as well as art materials and tools. <\/p>\n

So, there is great excitement among aficionados of Irish artist Jack B Yeats<\/a> (1871-1957) about the forthcoming Gormley\u2019s online auction of contents from his studio in 18 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2. The collection is expected to make in excess of \u20ac50,000. <\/p>\n

Niall Mullen, the long-time Francis Street antiques dealer, is working with Gormley\u2019s Auction rooms on Francis Street to promote the collection. <\/p>\n

\u201cYeats was a remarkable character and to see the tools of his life\u2019s work together in one place is undeniably moving,\u201d says Mullen. The youngest child of artist John Butler Yeats and Susan Yeats (n\u00e9e Pollexfen), Jack B Yeats spent his early years between London, Dublin and Sligo. He studied art at the South Kensington School of Art and Chiswick School of Art, where he met his future wife and fellow artist, Mary Cottenham White. The couple lived in Devon before returning to Ireland in 1910 \u2013 first to Greystones, Co Wicklow, and then Donnybrook, and lastly to Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin. <\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to those who knew him, no one ever saw him paint. He was reclusive and frugal. He never threw anything out,\u201d says Mullen. The items now for sale were inherited by his niece, Anne Yeats \u2013 daughter of the artist\u2019s brother, the poet WB Yeats \u2013 when he died. Brought to an antique dealer when Anne Yeats\u2019s Dalkey home was cleared out for sale in 2006, they were subsequently sold to the current owner. <\/p>\n

Anne Yeats (1919-2001) had donated more than 200 Jack B Yeats sketchbooks to the National Gallery in 1996. Held in the Yeats archives of the gallery, they can be viewed by appointment. <\/p>\n

The collection now for auction includes paintbrushes, paints, pencils, chalks, palettes, blank sketchbooks and lots of vintage office ephemera. Examples include a Cornish Wafers tin with the handwritten initials JB and paint tubes (\u20ac800-\u20ac1,200), and a paintbox with extendable tripod legs which serves as an easel (\u20ac2,000-\u20ac4,000). Christmas and new year cards, with watercolours by Jack B Yeats, and published by his sister Elizabeth Yeats\u2019s Cuala Press, are other collectables of interest. <\/p>\n

\"HoldHold Me Hat Till I Tear ‘Un (Let me at him) by Jack B Yeats (\u20ac8,000-\u20ac12,000) at Gormley’s auction <\/p>\n

A limited edition of the complete three volumes of Jack B Yeats, A Catalogue Raisonn\u00e9 of the Oil Paintings, by Hilary Pyle and published by Andr\u00e9 Deutsch in 1992, will also be of interest (\u20ac500-\u20ac1,000). Handwritten letters, bills, newspaper cuttings and an invoice for a bottle of whiskey from the day before he died are also on show. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0I tried to stare at this painting for three hours. And something odd happenedOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Bidding at Gormley\u2019s auction \u2013 which also has plenty of work by contemporary Irish artists \u2013 will close on Tuesday, March 10th, and viewing continues daily in the Francis Street gallery until then.<\/p>\n

A quirky Jack B Yeats pen-and-ink drawing, Our Railway System (And a Very Bad One Too), with an estimate of \u20ac6,000-\u20ac8,000 is for sale at Whyte\u2019s Irish and International Art auction on Monday, March 9th in the Freemasons Hall, Molesworth St, Dublin 2. <\/p>\n

\"OurOur Railway System (And a Very Bad One Too) by Jack B Yeats, at Whyte\u2019s Irish and International Art auction (\u20ac6,000-\u20ac8,000) <\/p>\n

The top lot in this auction is Roderic O\u2019Conor\u2019s Le Loing at Sundown (\u20ac150,000-\u20ac200,000), with its mysterious half-light. The painting is believed to have been painted in Montigny, a small town on the edge of the Fontainebleau forest, south of Paris. <\/p>\n

Art historian Jonathan Benington said O\u2019Conor\u2019s radical technique would have shocked many at the time, but was influenced by earlier works by both Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Benington will give a talk entitled Irish Artists on the River Loing: Friendships and Experimentation, 1890-1932, in the National Gallery on March 12th at 6.30pm. His talk will focus on the work and friendship of artists O\u2019Conor and Katherine McCausland, who lived in France at the time. <\/p>\n

\"RodericRoderic O\u2019Conor\u2019s Le Loing at Sundown (\u20ac150,000-\u20ac200,000) is the top lot in Whyte\u2019s auction on March 9th <\/p>\n

The Queen Signing the Visitors\u2019 Book at \u00c1ras an Uachtar\u00e1in (\u20ac1,000-\u20ac1,500) by Michael Hanrahan is another interesting painting for sale. Hanrahan was the only official accredited artist during the historic visit to Ireland by Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Phillip in 2011. He later gifted a painting to the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace to commemorate her state visit. <\/p>\n

Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book, 1980 (\u20ac25,000-\u20ac35,000) by English artist David Hockney, is one of the works by international artists for sale at Whyte\u2019s. <\/p>\n

\"DavidDavid Hockney’s Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book, 1980 (\u20ac25,000-\u20ac35,000), for sale at Whyte\u2019s <\/p>\n

Finally, collectors of Irish and European decorative objects will be interested in historical items in Sheppard\u2019s auction in Durrow, Co Laois, on March 10th, 11th and 12th. The three-day, in-person and online auction of about 1,800 lots includes about 150 lots \u2013 including portrait miniatures \u2013 linked to the Blandin family of the Ch\u00e2teau de Chalain in eastern France. Also of interest in the auction is a collection of antique Daum Nancy glass objects. The Art Nouveau crystal glass studio was set up by Jean Daum in the city of Nancy, also in eastern France, in the late 19th century, and continued by his sons Auguste and Antonin. <\/p>\n

Gormleysartauctions.com<\/a>; nationalgallery.ie<\/a>; whytes.ie<\/a>; sheppards.ie<\/a> <\/p>\n

What did it sell for?\"AA 24-place-setting, silver thread pattern canteen of Sheffield cutlery weighing almost 450 troy ounces Sheffield cutlery canteenEstimate: \u20ac10,000-\u20ac15,000Hammer price: \u20ac18,000Auction house: Adam\u2019s\"SwissSwiss rosewood floral marquetry ‘eight airs’ music box Swiss rosewood music boxEstimate: \u20ac600-\u20ac1,000Hammer price: \u20ac2,800Auction house: Adam\u2019s\"WilliamWilliam IV mahogany and button-back navy leather upholstered chair William IV upholstered library chairEstimate: \u20ac400-\u20ac600Hammer price: \u20ac460Auction house: Adam\u2019s\"AA Victorian oak twin-pedestal writing desk Victorian oak pedestal writing deskEstimate: \u20ac300-\u20ac500Hammer price: \u20ac190Auction house: Adam\u2019s\"19691969 Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe trophy, which was won by the Irish-bred and trained Levmoss 1969 Prix de l\u2019Arc de TriompheEstimate: \u20ac8,000-\u20ac12,000Hammer price: \u20ac12,000Auction house: John Weldon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is a quiet fascination among the public about how painters and sculptors work, and what they surround…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,145164,61,60,155221,17633,155222],"class_list":["post-338341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-fine-art-antiques","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-jack-b-yeats","tag-national-gallery-of-ireland","tag-whyte-s"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}