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John Butler Yeats RHA (1839-1922) A Portrait of a Lady Charcoal and pencil, 33 x 24cm (13 x 9½'') Signed, dated Sept. 1906 and inscribed 'Dublin' Provenance: Senator Michael Yeats from whom purchased 1974 through Seán Ó Criadáin by John P. Reihill; Deepwell, Blackrock, Co. Dublin Exhibited: Irish Art from Private Collections 1870-1930, Wexford Arts Centre, 1977 The identity of the sitter is unknown. However, Yeats made numerous sketches of family members, friends and acquaintances. Pencil portraits such as this demonstrate his outstanding ability to observe with warmth and compassion not only the facial characteristics of his sitters but also to seek out and convey the sitter's personality. Often his pencil sketches demonstrate greater sensitivity to the nuances of character than his more formal oil portraits because, by virtue of the the nature of the medium employed, the artist automatically surrenders any concern with peripheral detail. Christina Kennedy