Yeats Family

comprising 47 childhood drawings by William, Jack, Lily and Lolly adhered within a leather-bound book and contained in a presentation case

Hilary Pyle, Jack B. Yeats, His Watercolours, Drawings and Pastels, Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 1993, p.10-11, figs.2-3;
R. F. Foster, W. B. Yeats, A Life, Oxford University Press, 1998, illustrated pl.6;
Bruce Arnold, Jack Yeats, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1998, pp.18-19, figs. 20-24

The sheets are adhered to the pages within the scrapbook. The pages show signs of age, cockling and with some foxing, including some spots of foxing to some of the sketches. Overall the works appear in good condition. Contained in a hardback green presentation case inscribed in gilt lettering on the spine: 'Yeats Family Sketchbook'.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

All the Yeats children had drawn, sketched, and painted since they were old enough to carry a brush. This scrapbook provides a wonderful collection of early childhood sketches by Willy, Jack, Lily and Lolly. There are countryside views of houses, churches and the seaside in Branscombe, Devon where the children spent the summer of 1879. There are also drawings from Merville House, Sligo, the stately home belonging to the children's grandparents, William and Elizabeth Pollexfen, where they often stayed, as well as portraits of each other and what can be considered Jack's very first self-portrait aged eight. As Bruce Arnold comments, it is perhaps the most prophetic of all the works, depicting Jack in a field of a farm, dressed in boots, sou'wester and oilskin. His hands are held up in the air, in one of them a pencil, the other a drawing pad (see detail below). One can see in Jack's work already his love for a narrative of which his father John observed later: 'his drawings were never of one object, one person or one animal, but of groups engaged in some kind of drama at the time.' (Christian Science Monitor, Boston, 2 November 1920, 'The education of Jack B. Yeats' by John Butler Yeats')