Bidding on this item has ended.
Jack Butler Yeats
THE LITTLE MERCHANT (1925) (GORT, CO GALWAY)
Lot 71
Price Realised:
€95,000
Estimate:
€60,000 - €90,000
Jack Butler Yeats RHA, 1871 - 1957
THE LITTLE MERCHANT (1925) (GORT, CO GALWAY)
Oil on board, 9" x 14" (22.8 x 35.6cm), signed
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by John J. Horgan, Cork, in 1941, and by descent; with Pyms Gallery, Lo... Read more
Lot 71
Jack Butler Yeats
THE LITTLE MERCHANT (1925) (GORT, CO GALWAY)
THE LITTLE MERCHANT (1925) (GORT, CO GALWAY)
Oil on board, 9" x 14" (22.8 x 35.6cm), signed
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by John J. Horgan, Cork, in 1941, and by descent; with Pyms Gallery, Lo... Read more
Lot 71
Jack Butler Yeats
THE LITTLE MERCHANT (1925) (GORT, CO GALWAY)
Estimate:
€60,000 - €90,000
Jack Butler Yeats RHA, 1871 - 1957
THE LITTLE MERCHANT (1925) (GORT, CO GALWAY)
Oil on board, 9" x 14" (22.8 x 35.6cm), signed
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by John J. Horgan, Cork, in 1941, and by descent; with Pyms Gallery, London, where purchased by Jimmy Benson, OBE, on 30 September 1987 (label verso); Christies, 22nd Jan 2020, lot 140.
Exhibited: 1925 Dublin (3); 1926 London (21); 1927 Birmingham (19); 1945 Dublin National Loan (51); 1987 London (46) (col. repro).
Literature: 'Jack B. Yeats, A Catalogue Raisonne of the Oil Paintings' by Hilary Pyle, No 292.
**All bidding conducted through www.deveres.ie. Detailed condition report and additional images available on request**
According to Hilary Pyle, this painting depicts a scene in Gort, Co. Galway that the artist witnessed. A young girl is being congratulated on her selling skills by two elderly women.[i] The former is seated on a box with a small table of apples laid out in front of her. She is dressed in a black woolen shawl and long blue dress and appears very much as an adult. The women, by comparison, seem tall, elongated, and slender, their bodies covered by thick shawls. Behind them, a deserted townscape extends with two shop fronts visible across the street. The painted signage and large display windows are in sharp contrast to the simple stall of the apple seller. To the right the view opens onto a wide intersecting street on which a man and a donkey make their way, indicative of the beginning of early morning activity.
The paint is broadly handled, with the figures denoted by fluid strokes that generalise their features. The cool morning air is conveyed through the dominant use of blue tones on the architecture in the streetscape to the right, while tinges of warm yellow suggest sunlight falling on the ground behind the women. Bright red tones enhance the colour range, connecting the red skirt of one of the women, with the apple table and the painted cart frame to the right.
Yeats painted several scenes of flower girls and fruit sellers in the 1920s. Many are based on sketches that he made on his walks around Dublin and his travels around the Irish countryside. These works, like this one, reveal his empathy towards these people, often women, who made a precarious living on the streets. The lone figure of the little merchant, the object of curiosity, conveys the isolation of her work. She may be selling the produce of her own household. In the 1920s apples were not imported as today and their limited season ran from late August to December, when they were considered a treat for children and adults alike. The fact that the girl has secured her stall so early in the day suggests her determination and need to make money.
Dr Rosin Kennedy
[i]Hilary Pyle, Jack B. Yeats: a catalogue raisonne of his oil paintings, (London: Deutsch, 1992), I, p. 265.
THE LITTLE MERCHANT (1925) (GORT, CO GALWAY)
Oil on board, 9" x 14" (22.8 x 35.6cm), signed
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by John J. Horgan, Cork, in 1941, and by descent; with Pyms Gallery, London, where purchased by Jimmy Benson, OBE, on 30 September 1987 (label verso); Christies, 22nd Jan 2020, lot 140.
Exhibited: 1925 Dublin (3); 1926 London (21); 1927 Birmingham (19); 1945 Dublin National Loan (51); 1987 London (46) (col. repro).
Literature: 'Jack B. Yeats, A Catalogue Raisonne of the Oil Paintings' by Hilary Pyle, No 292.
**All bidding conducted through www.deveres.ie. Detailed condition report and additional images available on request**
According to Hilary Pyle, this painting depicts a scene in Gort, Co. Galway that the artist witnessed. A young girl is being congratulated on her selling skills by two elderly women.[i] The former is seated on a box with a small table of apples laid out in front of her. She is dressed in a black woolen shawl and long blue dress and appears very much as an adult. The women, by comparison, seem tall, elongated, and slender, their bodies covered by thick shawls. Behind them, a deserted townscape extends with two shop fronts visible across the street. The painted signage and large display windows are in sharp contrast to the simple stall of the apple seller. To the right the view opens onto a wide intersecting street on which a man and a donkey make their way, indicative of the beginning of early morning activity.
The paint is broadly handled, with the figures denoted by fluid strokes that generalise their features. The cool morning air is conveyed through the dominant use of blue tones on the architecture in the streetscape to the right, while tinges of warm yellow suggest sunlight falling on the ground behind the women. Bright red tones enhance the colour range, connecting the red skirt of one of the women, with the apple table and the painted cart frame to the right.
Yeats painted several scenes of flower girls and fruit sellers in the 1920s. Many are based on sketches that he made on his walks around Dublin and his travels around the Irish countryside. These works, like this one, reveal his empathy towards these people, often women, who made a precarious living on the streets. The lone figure of the little merchant, the object of curiosity, conveys the isolation of her work. She may be selling the produce of her own household. In the 1920s apples were not imported as today and their limited season ran from late August to December, when they were considered a treat for children and adults alike. The fact that the girl has secured her stall so early in the day suggests her determination and need to make money.
Dr Rosin Kennedy
[i]Hilary Pyle, Jack B. Yeats: a catalogue raisonne of his oil paintings, (London: Deutsch, 1992), I, p. 265.
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All maximum bids are confidential and not disclosed. The system will endeavor to purchase the lot for you for the least price. Bids are subject to buyer’s premium of 25% (incl vat), with no additional charges.
In the event of a tied bid, the preference will be given to the bid submitted first. The second bidder will receive immediate notification of being outbid.
PLEASE BID EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT.
In order to allow rival bidders the opportunity to respond to a late bid the following extensions will apply:
IF A BID IS RECEIVED WITHIN THE FINAL 45 SECONDS OF THE COUNTDOWN THE CLOCK WILL RESET TO 60 SECONDS.
At any point you can leave a maximum bid, representing the highest price you are prepared to pay for a particular lot. Bidding only advances when there is competition from a rival bidder. In that case the system bids on your behalf, only up to the maximum if required. All bids are relayed to you be email, along with notification if you have been outbid.
All maximum bids are confidential and not disclosed. The system will endeavor to purchase the lot for you for the least price. Bids are subject to buyer’s premium of 25% (incl vat), with no additional charges.
In the event of a tied bid, the preference will be given to the bid submitted first. The second bidder will receive immediate notification of being outbid.
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