38
WHYTES
SINCE 1783
,
44
Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957)
AGAINST THE STREAM, 1945
oil on board
signed lower left; inscribed with title on reverse; also with inscribed Dawson Gallery label on
reverse and typed Waddington Galleries, London label on reverse
9
by 14in. (22.86 by 35.56cm)
Provenance:
Dawson Gallery, Dublin;
Where purchased by a Mr F.S. Hess;
with Waddington Galleries, London;
Where purchased by a Mr Daniel O’Keeffe;
Private collection
A man walks briskly along a river bank pulling a small barge in the water along behind him.The dramatic
contrast in scale between him and his passengers suggest that the latter is a toy or that some fantastic scene
is before us.Yeats’ intricate handling of the paint conveys a breezy day with the trees on the bank blowing in
the gentle wind.The bright blues of the sea and river compliment the dark greens and yellow tones of the
surrounding vegetation and suggest the warmth of a summer’s day.The blue paint of the water has been
scraped back in parts to reveal the white of the board underneath.This denotes the reflected light of the sky
on the surface of the river, while drawing our attention to the physical construction of the painting.The pink
shirt and grey trousers of the ferryman while contrasting in hue with that of its environs are blended into the
composition through the way in which the artist has sculpted the form out of paint.
Rivers and ferrymen are a major theme in Yeats’ work.The ferryman, like the pilot man who guided the ships
in and out of port, is symbolic of an innate wisdom and a keen understanding of the complexities of the sea
and the tide.The title of this work
Against the Stream
indicates the skill of the man as he manoeuvres the
boat upstream. Rivers are moving forces and as such they represent the unending progress of life and nature.
The sense of journeying is keenly expressed in this work through the movement of trees, the water and
above all by the striding figure and the boat.The wide spread of the composition takes in the breadth of the
river and its opposing bank and thus sets the expedition of the man and the boat within the much greater
context of natural forces. In a playful manner Yeats uses the work to pose quite profound questions about the
purpose of an individual life set against the bigger forces of the natural world.
Dr. Róisín Kennedy
November, 2012
€
50,000-
€
70,000 (
£40,000-£56,000 approx)