Lot 25
REVERIE, 1931
Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957)
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Estimate:
€400,000 - €700,000
Price Realised:
€1,400,000
Signature:
signed lower left; titled on reverse
Medium:
oil on canvas
Size:
24 x 36in. (60.96 x 91.44cm)
Provenance:
Purchased by Ernie O'Malley, 1945;
Thence by family descent
Thence by family descent
Exhibited:
RHA, Dublin, 1931, catalogue no. 23;
‘Loan Exhibition’, Temple Newsam House, Leeds, 20 June to 4 August 1948;
‘Loan Exhibition’, Tate Gallery, London, 14 August to 15 September 1948, catalogue no. 18;
‘Joint Exhibition of Paintings from the Collection of the late Ernie O’Malley and the Yeats Museum’, County Library and Museum, Sligo, 2-20 August 1963, catalogue no. 6 (illustrated);
‘Loan Exhibition’, Institute of Technology, Hayden Gallery, Massachusetts, 11 January to 17 Febraury 1965, catalogue no. 48;
‘Jack B. Yeats: A Centenary Exhibition’, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, September to December 1971 and in New York, Cultural Center, April to June 1972, catalogue no. 54 (illustrated);
‘Jack Yeats: Irish Expressionist’, Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama, 15 March to 30 April 1980, catalogue no. 46 (illustrated);
‘Jack B. Yeats: The Late Paintings’, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, 16 February to 24 March 1991 and afterwards at Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 5 April to 26 May 1991, also at the Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, 21 June to 15 September 1991, catalogue no. 9 (illustrated)
‘Loan Exhibition’, Temple Newsam House, Leeds, 20 June to 4 August 1948;
‘Loan Exhibition’, Tate Gallery, London, 14 August to 15 September 1948, catalogue no. 18;
‘Joint Exhibition of Paintings from the Collection of the late Ernie O’Malley and the Yeats Museum’, County Library and Museum, Sligo, 2-20 August 1963, catalogue no. 6 (illustrated);
‘Loan Exhibition’, Institute of Technology, Hayden Gallery, Massachusetts, 11 January to 17 Febraury 1965, catalogue no. 48;
‘Jack B. Yeats: A Centenary Exhibition’, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, September to December 1971 and in New York, Cultural Center, April to June 1972, catalogue no. 54 (illustrated);
‘Jack Yeats: Irish Expressionist’, Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama, 15 March to 30 April 1980, catalogue no. 46 (illustrated);
‘Jack B. Yeats: The Late Paintings’, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, 16 February to 24 March 1991 and afterwards at Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 5 April to 26 May 1991, also at the Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, 21 June to 15 September 1991, catalogue no. 9 (illustrated)
Literature:
Hilary Pyle, Jack B. Yeats: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, Andre Deutsch, London, 1992, Vol. I, page 388, catalogue no. 429
A man reclines in a railway carriage. His head rests on his hand in a pose of
melancholia, familiar from 17th and 18th century painting and tomb effigies of the
16th and 17th centuries. Those displaying signs of melancholia were believed to be<...Read more
melancholia, familiar from 17th and 18th century painting and tomb effigies of the
16th and 17th centuries. Those displaying signs of melancholia were believed to be<...Read more
A man reclines in a railway carriage. His head rests on his hand in a pose of
melancholia, familiar from 17th and 18th century painting and tomb effigies of the
16th and 17th centuries. Those displaying signs of melancholia were believed to be
suffering from not only emotional and physical imbalance but one in which they
were out of alignment with the cosmos. Artists suffered more acutely from
melancholia as the act of creating made them keenly aware of the transience of life.
Ernie O’Malley, who acquired this painting from Jack Yeats in 1945, wrote of how ‘the
shifting scene’ in his work is ‘temperamental and induces mood’. ‘Land can become
sogged with persistent rain; it is then more than ever a burden and a heart-breaking
task to work, or to brood a melancholy in the mind. With shafted light after the rain
comes a lyrical mood in which tender greens vibrate in tones, whins crash with
yellow glory and atmosphere is radiant’. (1)
The green blue waterlogged land, visible through the window, creates a poignant
backdrop. By contrast, the interior of the carriage is made of deep reds and oranges,
suggesting its polished wood and upholstered décor. Its warm tones evoke a
womb-like environment in which the traveller can reflect. While advertisements are
visible on the rail above him they are subsumed into the overall atmosphere of the
space.
Yeats travelled by rail across Ireland extensively throughout his career. It is a major
subject in his paintings and in his writings. It provided the perfect trope for
juxtaposing an uncultivated world with that of the modernity of modern transport.
As in Evening in Sligo, another work that belonged to O’Malley, the view through
the window can be read as symbolic of the figure’s thoughts and imagination. The
train provides a contemporary manner of experiencing the landscape, at one step
removed and yet in this case allowing private contemplation. O’Malley shared Yeats’
reverence for the Irish countryside and had many memories of travelling through it
as a young commander during the War of Independence and the Civil War.
Dr Róisín Kennedy
September 2019
1. Ernie O’Malley, ‘Introduction’, Jack B. Yeats National Loan Exhibition Catalogue, National
College of Art (Dublin, June-July 1945).
melancholia, familiar from 17th and 18th century painting and tomb effigies of the
16th and 17th centuries. Those displaying signs of melancholia were believed to be
suffering from not only emotional and physical imbalance but one in which they
were out of alignment with the cosmos. Artists suffered more acutely from
melancholia as the act of creating made them keenly aware of the transience of life.
Ernie O’Malley, who acquired this painting from Jack Yeats in 1945, wrote of how ‘the
shifting scene’ in his work is ‘temperamental and induces mood’. ‘Land can become
sogged with persistent rain; it is then more than ever a burden and a heart-breaking
task to work, or to brood a melancholy in the mind. With shafted light after the rain
comes a lyrical mood in which tender greens vibrate in tones, whins crash with
yellow glory and atmosphere is radiant’. (1)
The green blue waterlogged land, visible through the window, creates a poignant
backdrop. By contrast, the interior of the carriage is made of deep reds and oranges,
suggesting its polished wood and upholstered décor. Its warm tones evoke a
womb-like environment in which the traveller can reflect. While advertisements are
visible on the rail above him they are subsumed into the overall atmosphere of the
space.
Yeats travelled by rail across Ireland extensively throughout his career. It is a major
subject in his paintings and in his writings. It provided the perfect trope for
juxtaposing an uncultivated world with that of the modernity of modern transport.
As in Evening in Sligo, another work that belonged to O’Malley, the view through
the window can be read as symbolic of the figure’s thoughts and imagination. The
train provides a contemporary manner of experiencing the landscape, at one step
removed and yet in this case allowing private contemplation. O’Malley shared Yeats’
reverence for the Irish countryside and had many memories of travelling through it
as a young commander during the War of Independence and the Civil War.
Dr Róisín Kennedy
September 2019
1. Ernie O’Malley, ‘Introduction’, Jack B. Yeats National Loan Exhibition Catalogue, National
College of Art (Dublin, June-July 1945).
- Auction Details
- T&Cs
- Bidding
Whyte’s, in association with Christie’s, offered works from The Ernie O’Malley Collection, highlighted by five paintings by Jack Butler Yeats. Comprised of 100 lots, also including early sketches by Yeats and work by the artists Mainie Jellett, Evie Hone, Louis le Brocquy, Colin Middleton and Norah McGuinness, the auction formed an anthology of Irish art from the early 1900s to the 1950s. Ernie O’Malley was a leading revolutionary an in Ireland from 1916-22 who went on to publish two books detailing his experiences. The sale and international exhibitions provided an opportunity to discover his private passion for art and the relationships he developed with artists he encountered in America and Ireland.
The collection grossed €5.5 million, the highest result for an art auction in Ireland, including record breaking realisations for several works.
The collection grossed €5.5 million, the highest result for an art auction in Ireland, including record breaking realisations for several works.
Whyte & Sons Auctioneers Limited, trading as Whyte's, hereinafter called "the auctioneer" exercises all reasonable care to ensure that all descriptions are reliable and accurate, and that each item is genuine unless the contrary is indicated. However, the descriptions are not intended to be, are not and are not to be taken to be, statements of fact or representations of fact in relation to the lot. They are statements of the opinion of the auctioneers, and attention is particularly drawn to clause 5 set out below. Comments and opinions, which may be found in or on lots as labels, notes, lists, catalogue prices, or any other means of expression, do not constitute part of lot descriptions and are not to be taken as such unless they are made or specifically verified by the auctioneers.
Clause 1
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(c) If any dispute arises as to the highest bidder the auctioneer shall have absolute discretion to determine the dispute and may put up again and re-sell the lot in respect of which the dispute arises.
Clause 2
(a) The bidding and advances shall be regulated by and at the absolute discretion of the auctioneer and he shall have the right to refuse any bid or bids. NOTE: Where an agent bids, even on behalf of a disclosed client, the auctioneer nevertheless has the right at his discretion to refuse any such bid.
(b) The purchaser of each lot shall immediately on its sale, if required by the auctioneer, give him the name and address of the purchaser and pay to the auctioneer at his discretion the whole or part of the purchase money. If the purchaser of any lot fails to comply with any such requirement the auctioneer may put up again and re-sell the lot; if upon such re-sale a lower price is obtained than was obtained on the first sale the purchaser in default on the first sale shall make good the difference in price and expenses of re-sale which shall become a debt due from him.
(c) Where an agent purchases on behalf of an undisclosed client such agent shall be personally liable for payment of the purchase money to the auctioneer and for safe delivery of the lot to the said client.
Clause 3
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(b) The auctioneer reserves the rights, before or during a sale, to group together lots belonging to the same vendor, to split up and to withdraw any lot or lots at the auctioneer's absolute discretion and without giving any reason in any case.
(c) The auctioneer acts as agent only, and therefore shall not be liable for any default of the purchaser or vendor.
Clause 4
(a) Each lot shall be at the purchaser's risk from the fall of the hammer and shall be paid for in full before delivery and taken away at his expense within one day of the sale. The buyer will be responsible for all removal, storage and insurance charges in respect of any lot which has not been collected within one day of the date of sale. (b) If any purchaser fails to pay in full for any lot within 21 days of the date of sale such lot may at any time thereafter at the auctioneer's discretion be put up for sale by auction again or sold privately; if upon such re-sale a lower price is obtained than was obtained on the first sale the purchaser in default on the first sale shall make good the difference in price and the expenses of re-sale which shall become debt due from him. (c) Interest at 2 per cent per month and legal costs (if any) for recovery of monies due shall be payable by the purchaser on any overdue account.
Clause 5
(a) All lots are made available for inspection before each sale and each buyer, by making a bid, acknowledges that he has satisfied himself as to the physical condition, age and catalogue description of each lot (including but not restricted to whether the lot is damaged or has been repaired or restored).
(b) All lots are sold with all faults and imperfections and errors of description and the Auctioneer and its employees, servants or agents shall not be responsible for any error of description or for the condition or authenticity of any lot, save for Clause 5 (c) below. Written or verbal condition reports may be supplied by the Auctioneer on request but these are merely statements of opinion, and any error or omission in these reports may not be taken as grounds for a cancellation of sale or refund of any part of the purchase price or the cost of any repairs to the lot or lots reported on
(c) A purchaser shall be at liberty to reject any lot if he - (i) gives the auctioneer written notice of intention to question the genuineness of the lot within seven days from the date of sale; AND (ii) proves that the lot is a deliberate forgery and (iii) returns to the auctioneer within 20 days from the date of sale the lot in the same condition as it was at the time of sale; provided that the auctioneer may, at his discretion, on receiving a request in writing from the purchaser, extend for a reasonable period the time for return of the lot to enable it to be submitted to expertisation. NOTE: The onus of proving a lot to be a deliberate forgery is on the purchaser.
(d) Where a lot has been submitted to expertisation, all costs of such expertisation shall be paid by the person who retains the certificate of expertisation and item or items to which the certificate relates.
(e) Where the purchaser of a lot discharges the onus and acts in accordance with sub-clause (b) of this clause, the auctioneer shall rescind the sale and repay to the purchaser the purchase money paid by him in respect of the lot.
(f) No lot shall be rejected if, subsequent to the sale, it has been marked by an expert committee or treated by any other process unless the auctioneer's permission to subject the lot to such treatment has first been obtained in writing.
(g) Any lot listed as a "collection, range, portfolio etc." or stated to comprise or contain a collection or range of items which are not described shall be put up for sale not subject to rejection and shall be taken by the purchaser with all (if any) faults, lack of genuineness and errors of description and numbers of items in the lot, and the purchaser shall have no right to reject the lot; except that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this sub-clause, where before a sale a person intending to bid at the sale gives notice in writing to, and satisfies the auctioneer that any such lot contains any item or items undescribed in the sale catalogue and that person specifically describes that item or those items in that notice, then that item or those items shall, as between the auctioneer and that person, to be taken to form part of the description of the lot.
Clause 6
The respective rights and obligations of the parties shall be governed and interpreted by Irish law, and the buyer hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish Courts.
Special Conditions
a) The buyer shall pay the Auctioneer a commission at the rate of 20% up to and including €3 million, and 13.5% of that part of the hammer price over €3 million. The Buyer's Premium is added to the hammer price of all lots and is subject to VAT at the prevailing rate. There is no extra charge to on-line buyers on Whyte’s platform – bid.whytes.ie or on Invaluable.com.
(b) The Auctioneer or its employees, servants or agents may, on request organise packing and shipping of lots purchased or may order on the buyer's behalf third parties to pack or ship purchases. Under no circumstances does the Auctioneer accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever occasioned in the course of such service.
(c) The buyer authorises the Auctioneer to use any photographs or illustrations of any lot purchased for any or all purposes as the Auctioneer may require. The placing of a bid will be taken as full agreement to all the above conditions.
WHYTE AND SONS AUCTIONEERS LIMITED, 2018.
Clause 1
(a) Each lot is put up subject to any reserve price imposed by the vendor
(b) Subject to sub-clause (a) of this clause, the highest bidder for each lot shall be the purchaser thereof
(c) If any dispute arises as to the highest bidder the auctioneer shall have absolute discretion to determine the dispute and may put up again and re-sell the lot in respect of which the dispute arises.
Clause 2
(a) The bidding and advances shall be regulated by and at the absolute discretion of the auctioneer and he shall have the right to refuse any bid or bids. NOTE: Where an agent bids, even on behalf of a disclosed client, the auctioneer nevertheless has the right at his discretion to refuse any such bid.
(b) The purchaser of each lot shall immediately on its sale, if required by the auctioneer, give him the name and address of the purchaser and pay to the auctioneer at his discretion the whole or part of the purchase money. If the purchaser of any lot fails to comply with any such requirement the auctioneer may put up again and re-sell the lot; if upon such re-sale a lower price is obtained than was obtained on the first sale the purchaser in default on the first sale shall make good the difference in price and expenses of re-sale which shall become a debt due from him.
(c) Where an agent purchases on behalf of an undisclosed client such agent shall be personally liable for payment of the purchase money to the auctioneer and for safe delivery of the lot to the said client.
Clause 3
(a) The auctioneer reserves the rights to bid on behalf of clients including vendors, but shall not be liable for errors or omissions in executing instructions to bid.
(b) The auctioneer reserves the rights, before or during a sale, to group together lots belonging to the same vendor, to split up and to withdraw any lot or lots at the auctioneer's absolute discretion and without giving any reason in any case.
(c) The auctioneer acts as agent only, and therefore shall not be liable for any default of the purchaser or vendor.
Clause 4
(a) Each lot shall be at the purchaser's risk from the fall of the hammer and shall be paid for in full before delivery and taken away at his expense within one day of the sale. The buyer will be responsible for all removal, storage and insurance charges in respect of any lot which has not been collected within one day of the date of sale. (b) If any purchaser fails to pay in full for any lot within 21 days of the date of sale such lot may at any time thereafter at the auctioneer's discretion be put up for sale by auction again or sold privately; if upon such re-sale a lower price is obtained than was obtained on the first sale the purchaser in default on the first sale shall make good the difference in price and the expenses of re-sale which shall become debt due from him. (c) Interest at 2 per cent per month and legal costs (if any) for recovery of monies due shall be payable by the purchaser on any overdue account.
Clause 5
(a) All lots are made available for inspection before each sale and each buyer, by making a bid, acknowledges that he has satisfied himself as to the physical condition, age and catalogue description of each lot (including but not restricted to whether the lot is damaged or has been repaired or restored).
(b) All lots are sold with all faults and imperfections and errors of description and the Auctioneer and its employees, servants or agents shall not be responsible for any error of description or for the condition or authenticity of any lot, save for Clause 5 (c) below. Written or verbal condition reports may be supplied by the Auctioneer on request but these are merely statements of opinion, and any error or omission in these reports may not be taken as grounds for a cancellation of sale or refund of any part of the purchase price or the cost of any repairs to the lot or lots reported on
(c) A purchaser shall be at liberty to reject any lot if he - (i) gives the auctioneer written notice of intention to question the genuineness of the lot within seven days from the date of sale; AND (ii) proves that the lot is a deliberate forgery and (iii) returns to the auctioneer within 20 days from the date of sale the lot in the same condition as it was at the time of sale; provided that the auctioneer may, at his discretion, on receiving a request in writing from the purchaser, extend for a reasonable period the time for return of the lot to enable it to be submitted to expertisation. NOTE: The onus of proving a lot to be a deliberate forgery is on the purchaser.
(d) Where a lot has been submitted to expertisation, all costs of such expertisation shall be paid by the person who retains the certificate of expertisation and item or items to which the certificate relates.
(e) Where the purchaser of a lot discharges the onus and acts in accordance with sub-clause (b) of this clause, the auctioneer shall rescind the sale and repay to the purchaser the purchase money paid by him in respect of the lot.
(f) No lot shall be rejected if, subsequent to the sale, it has been marked by an expert committee or treated by any other process unless the auctioneer's permission to subject the lot to such treatment has first been obtained in writing.
(g) Any lot listed as a "collection, range, portfolio etc." or stated to comprise or contain a collection or range of items which are not described shall be put up for sale not subject to rejection and shall be taken by the purchaser with all (if any) faults, lack of genuineness and errors of description and numbers of items in the lot, and the purchaser shall have no right to reject the lot; except that, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this sub-clause, where before a sale a person intending to bid at the sale gives notice in writing to, and satisfies the auctioneer that any such lot contains any item or items undescribed in the sale catalogue and that person specifically describes that item or those items in that notice, then that item or those items shall, as between the auctioneer and that person, to be taken to form part of the description of the lot.
Clause 6
The respective rights and obligations of the parties shall be governed and interpreted by Irish law, and the buyer hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish Courts.
Special Conditions
a) The buyer shall pay the Auctioneer a commission at the rate of 20% up to and including €3 million, and 13.5% of that part of the hammer price over €3 million. The Buyer's Premium is added to the hammer price of all lots and is subject to VAT at the prevailing rate. There is no extra charge to on-line buyers on Whyte’s platform – bid.whytes.ie or on Invaluable.com.
(b) The Auctioneer or its employees, servants or agents may, on request organise packing and shipping of lots purchased or may order on the buyer's behalf third parties to pack or ship purchases. Under no circumstances does the Auctioneer accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever occasioned in the course of such service.
(c) The buyer authorises the Auctioneer to use any photographs or illustrations of any lot purchased for any or all purposes as the Auctioneer may require. The placing of a bid will be taken as full agreement to all the above conditions.
WHYTE AND SONS AUCTIONEERS LIMITED, 2018.
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