Bidding on this item has ended.
Lot 24
Jack B. Yeats RHA
MAN RUNNING
Jack B. Yeats RHA
MAN RUNNING
Estimate:
€100,000 - €150,000
Price Realised:
€100,000
Jack B. Yeats RHA, 1871-1957
Hilary Pyle: Jack B. Yeats Catalogue Raisonne (1992), ref. no. 881, “MAN RUNNING” (1947)
Sold by the artist to the barrister Oliver D. Gogarty (known as Nol) in Dublin, in October 1947, the year in which it was painted.
Oliver D. Gogarty was a son of the celebrated poet and surgeon Oliver St John Gogarty.
Gorry Gallery, Dublin, 1987.
Christies, Dublin, 1989
James Adam, Dublin
Private Collection.
Jack B. Yeats Man Running 1947:
This late work by Jack B Yeats centres on a male figure running alone in an open space. His arms are held aloft while his legs are bent as he races forward towards the viewer. One of his boots extends to the front of the composition, as if intruding into our space. This charging man creates an almost comical image while at the same time imparting a sense of excitement and even frustration. The sides of his coat fly in the wind, appearing like extra limbs and adding to the incongruity of the sight. Behind the man the foamy waves of the surrounding ocean lap against the fairway on which he stands. The sky is left almost bare with the pale primary coat of the board predominating. It is marked however by swirls of deep red, blue and yellow pigment which create a dramatic and turbulent backdrop to the running man. The vibrant but remote West of Ireland setting adds to the isolation of the figure and intimates his solitary state as he rushes forward. This wild landscape relates to that of other important late works such as The Great Tent Has Collapsed, (1947, Private Collection) and The Singing Horseman, (1949, National Gallery of Ireland) in the way in which its ferocity accentuates the existential aspects of the subject. The focus on the figure’s physicality reflects what Samuel Beckett described as Yeats’s paintings’ embodiment of ‘the impenetrability of the world, and the subject’s helpless solipsism before it….’. It was painted in a period when Yeats was confronting his own mortality and his paintings often centred on elderly male figures wandering across an uncultivated but impressive terrain. The idea of moving is central to these late works and this painting in its emphasis on running shows an extreme example of the kineticism that so fascinated Yeats and which he felt was central to both humankind and nature. While the running man’s gestures may appear to be out of sync with his surroundings, the latter is equally full of movement.
The painting was acquired by the barrister Oliver D Gogarty, known as Nol, in 1947, the year in which it was painted. He was a son of the celebrated poet and surgeon Oliver St John Gogarty who also collected works by Jack B. Yeats.
Dr Róisín Kennedy, May 2025
.
Estimate: €100,000 - €150,000
MAN RUNNING
Oil on Board
8.75"x13.75" (22.25x35cm)
Signed
Original Artist's Label Verso, with Title Inscribed
. Hilary Pyle: Jack B. Yeats Catalogue Raisonne (1992), ref. no. 881, “MAN RUNNING” (1947)
Sold by the artist to the barrister Oliver D. Gogarty (known as Nol) in Dublin, in October 1947, the year in which it was painted.
Oliver D. Gogarty was a son of the celebrated poet and surgeon Oliver St John Gogarty.
Gorry Gallery, Dublin, 1987.
Christies, Dublin, 1989
James Adam, Dublin
Private Collection.
Jack B. Yeats Man Running 1947:
This late work by Jack B Yeats centres on a male figure running alone in an open space. His arms are held aloft while his legs are bent as he races forward towards the viewer. One of his boots extends to the front of the composition, as if intruding into our space. This charging man creates an almost comical image while at the same time imparting a sense of excitement and even frustration. The sides of his coat fly in the wind, appearing like extra limbs and adding to the incongruity of the sight. Behind the man the foamy waves of the surrounding ocean lap against the fairway on which he stands. The sky is left almost bare with the pale primary coat of the board predominating. It is marked however by swirls of deep red, blue and yellow pigment which create a dramatic and turbulent backdrop to the running man. The vibrant but remote West of Ireland setting adds to the isolation of the figure and intimates his solitary state as he rushes forward. This wild landscape relates to that of other important late works such as The Great Tent Has Collapsed, (1947, Private Collection) and The Singing Horseman, (1949, National Gallery of Ireland) in the way in which its ferocity accentuates the existential aspects of the subject. The focus on the figure’s physicality reflects what Samuel Beckett described as Yeats’s paintings’ embodiment of ‘the impenetrability of the world, and the subject’s helpless solipsism before it….’. It was painted in a period when Yeats was confronting his own mortality and his paintings often centred on elderly male figures wandering across an uncultivated but impressive terrain. The idea of moving is central to these late works and this painting in its emphasis on running shows an extreme example of the kineticism that so fascinated Yeats and which he felt was central to both humankind and nature. While the running man’s gestures may appear to be out of sync with his surroundings, the latter is equally full of movement.
The painting was acquired by the barrister Oliver D Gogarty, known as Nol, in 1947, the year in which it was painted. He was a son of the celebrated poet and surgeon Oliver St John Gogarty who also collected works by Jack B. Yeats.
Dr Róisín Kennedy, May 2025
.
Estimate: €100,000 - €150,000
- Enquire about this lot
- View all lots by this artist
- How bidding works
Timed Online Auctions:
The first step is to Register by clicking here and thereafter by verifying your email. When registered you can leave bids on multiple lots at any stage up until the closing time, whereby the highest bidder wins the lot. Bidding increments are as follows:€0 - €49 by €5
€50 - €99 by €10
€100 - €599 by €20
€600 - €1,199 by €50
€1,200 - €3,999 by €100
€4,000 - €5,999 by €200
€6,000 - €9,999 by €500
€10,000 - €29,999 by €1,000
€30,000 - €49,999 by €2,000
€50,000 - €109,999 by €5,000
€110,000 - €219,999 by €10,000
€220,000 - €599,999 by €20,000
Thereafter in increments of €50,000
Enter your Maximum Bid, i.e. the highest amount you’re willing to bid for a particular lot in the auction. The system will automatically raise your bid, only as much as is needed, for you to remain the highest bidder and only up to your chosen Maximum Bid, which does not include the buyer’s commission (VAT Inclusive) payable on all lots.
Please note that all Maximum Bids are confidential and are not disclosed. The system will endeavour to purchase your lot at the lowest hammer price, as is permitted by other bids or reserves, if any, and subject to the Terms and Conditions of Sale, and the auctioneer disclaims responsibility for any failure, for whatever reason, in this regard.
The system will advance your bid automatically, on your behalf, only when required, up to the maximum you have chosen. This means that you may win an item for less than your maximum bid, but it also means that you can be outbid if someone else enters a higher Maximum Bid. If you are outbid for a lot, an email will be sent to you to notify you and to invite you to increase your Maximum Bid. Please note, if a bid is received in the final minute of a timed auction, the clock resets back to sixty seconds, in order to give other bidders an opportunity to respond.