John Butler Yeats

Born in 1839 in County Down, John Butler Yeats trained first in law before turning seriously to art. He became known mainly as a portrait painter, with writers, political figures, and members of his own remarkable family among his subjects.

He was the father of W. B. Yeats, Jack B. Yeats, Susan Mary "Lily" Yeats, and Elizabeth Corbet "Lolly" Yeats, and he remains an important figure in the cultural story around that family. Alongside painting, he was also a gifted letter writer, and those letters helped preserve his sharp, curious, and often funny view of the world.

In later life he moved to New York, where he spent his final years and died in 1922. Today he is remembered both for his portraits and for the vivid personality that comes through in his correspondence.