author
John Butler Yeats
1839–1922
An Irish portrait painter with a sharp eye for character, he is remembered both for his own art and for the remarkable creative family around him. Trained first for the law, he turned to painting instead and became a lively presence in Irish cultural life.
2 Audiobooks
Essays Irish and American
by John Butler Yeats
Early memories; some chapters of autobiography
by John Butler Yeats
About the author
Born in County Down in 1839, he was raised in a Protestant clerical family and originally studied law at Trinity College Dublin before choosing art as his real path. He went on to build a reputation as a portrait painter and thinker on art, with work now held by the National Gallery of Ireland.
He is often introduced as the father of W. B. Yeats, Jack B. Yeats, Lily Yeats, and Lollie Yeats, but his own career was substantial in its own right. He painted many portraits and was known for his thoughtful, talkative personality, which left a strong impression on the literary and artistic circles around him.
Late in life he moved to New York, where he spent his final years and died in 1922. His legacy now rests not only in the famous family name, but in a body of portrait work that captures intelligence, mood, and individuality with unusual warmth.