7. John Butler Yeats
(1839-1922)

Rye, July 4, 1908

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Yeats: Rye, July 4, 1908

Rye, July 4, 1908

Original drawing in pencil on thick, tan wove paper, 248 x 349 mm., inscribed and signed in pencil. The painter John Butler Yeats, a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy, was the father of the poet William Butler Yeats and of the artist Jack Butler Yeats. One might say that his very real accomplishments have been overshadowed by those of his progeny. Born, of course, in Ireland, Yeats spent the last fifteen years of his life in New York, so it is perhaps not surprising that the scene here represents Rye, New York rather than Rye, England. The image of a placid summer day by the water is well conveyed in this plein air, sketch, which elicits more a memory of atmosphere than of time or even the named place.