This charming line drawing of a day at the Whippet races, Jelly Jelly Jelly All Jelly (c. 1900), by preeminent Irish artist Jack Butler Yeats sold today at Christies London auction house for £17,300 ($33,994). Honestly, I never knew about Jack, the brother of Nobel Prize winning poet William. But it turns he was the first Irish painter to sell for over £1 million. And, he is often credited with articulating "a modern Ireland of the 20th century, partly by depicting specifically Irish subjects, but also by doing so in the light of universal themes such as the loneliness of the individual, and the universality of the plight of man."
His father, Irish portraitist John Butler Yeats, also recognized his son’s talents, stating "’Some day I will be remembered as the father of a great poet, and the poet is Jack." Ouch…I wonder how that made William feel?
Here are some close ups of the lovely drawing of Irish dog enthusiasts.
The inscription reads, "Them dogs/is took more care of/than if they was going/ter come in for a million o money"
Source: Wikipedia.
See all the Irish Art for sale at Christies here. It’s very interesting to compare the work to what artists on the continent were doing at the same time. Obviously, the Irish were preoccupied with their battle for their Republic in the early 20th century, but you can see the steps they’re taking towards Modernism, albeit baby steps of a young country fighting for survival, not yet ready to focus on art.