Anne Yeats (1919 - 2001), Portrait of a young woman

Portrait of a young woman wearing a headscarf. By the pose, this could be a self portrait. Still in its original frame and mount, it has been re-glazed with non-relfective, UV protecting glass, with acid-free board on the reverse. Based on the age the sitter and the style of the hair, as well as on the artist's later artistic development, this painting most likely dates from the late 1930s or early 1940s. The frame and somewhat home-made mount, which we have preserved, is also indicative of this.

The daughter of the poet W.B.Yeats, grand-daughter of the portraitist John Butler Yeats and niece of Jack B. Yeats, Anne Yeats was born into the heart of Dublin's artistic milieu. She studied at the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin. She worked for many years in the Abbey Theatre as a set designer. In the 1940s and 1950s she travelled widely and exhibited regularly from the 1940s she worked with many Irish poets and writers as an illustrator and designer.

This luminous portrait is an early example of her work that is rarely seen. It most likely dates from her period as a student, or shortly after. Her later works are more abstract, though interestingly, she did depict women in scarves or shawls on several occasions.

Her work is in the collections of many notable institutions, including The National Gallery of Ireland, the Hugh Lane  Gallery and the Trinity College collection.

28 x 32cm, excluding frame and mount. Gouache and mixed media on wove. Original frame and mount, newly glazed and with new backing board. Signed bottom right. Framed as shown with original Dawson Gallery label.

Artworks can be viewed and purchased in our Clare Street shop. Overseas shipping is available on request.