Irish paintings a revelation for the Anglophilic

While most Yale students can claim some familiarity with Modern Irish literature either from reading a few poems by William Butler Yeats or mastering James Joyce's monumental Ulysses, very few Yalies, even Professor Vincent Scully's, JE '40, GRD '49, disciples, could claim to have knowledge about the rich visual artistic tradition of early Modern Ireland. Irish Paintings From the Collection of Brian P. Burns presents a comprehensive survey of works from mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century Ireland, a nation whose art has largely been overlooked by scholars, students, and museum-goers alike.

The paintings are displayed in theme-oriented rooms which progress in more or less chronological order and are complemented by glass-case displays of relevant literary works and historical documents. The entry to the exhibit contains displays of documents about Irish nationalism and some nineteenth century romantic landscapes.

By far, the highlight and culmination of this exhibit are the stunning and profoundly poetic works of Jack Butler Yeats, younger brother of the poet. Fourteen of his paintings are on display, comprised of both oils and watercolors. His works combine the vibrant energy and expressiveness associated with Post-Impressionist or Fauvist style with a sense of melancholy and solitude which characterizes them as uniquely Irish.

The great painting, "A Misty Morning," portrays a lone sea captain perched on the craggy shore, his back to the viewer, staring out into the fog-obscured horizon. Two figures approaching in a rowboat are totally enveloped by the thick mysterious fog which, itself, becomes the true focus of the work. The overwhelming use of blue color in the painting gives it a very solemn, melancholy aura.

"The Derelict," a solo portrait of a man, also shares such characteristics, dominated throughout by blue color and a sense of lonliness. This work reveals a more fluid and naturalistic style characteristic of Yeats' watercolors. The man's deep set eyes and despairing gaze, along with his slumped posture create a strong sense of solitude.

One of the most stunningly melancholy and fascinating of Yeats' works is perfectly titled, "A Silence." Yeats uses an eerie color scheme of yellow, black, and white, and portrays a group of self-absorbed, contemplative figures sitting around a room, with no sign of interaction whatsoever. The truly shocking aspect of this work is that the central figure in the rear is a self-portrait of Jack Yeats himself, who is portrayed as an elderly figure. The young woman in the foreground is a depiction of his wife, long dead at the time the work was painted. Yeats brings together the living and the dead, a deeply personal and poetic reflection of his ongoing communion with his wife's memory.

While Yeats offers varied, thought-provoking portraiture, the works in the first major display room focus on the Potato Famine of 1849-50, emphasizing the vastly different effects the famine had on members of the lower and upper classes.

On one side of the room, a series of upper class genre paintings show the relatively easy lifestyle of the upper classes as they engage in equestrian activities. The popular upper-class genre of dog and horse portraiture is also represented, showing the true luxury of the wealthy; they could afford to display commemorative works honoring their four-legged companions in their living rooms. Across the room a series of works capture the much impoverished life of the lower classes resulting from the famine. The most dramatic image is James Brennan's "Empty Pockets," which candidly shows a boy in tattered rags turning out his empty pockets as proof of his poverty.

The next series of rooms trace the work of various late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century artists, many of whom were expatriates. Notable among these paintings are a group by Roderic O' Conor, who expatriated to Paris and befriended Gauguin. His works are strongly influenced by the French Post-Impressionist style, and some of them such as "Romeo and Juliet," create intense energy through lively passionate brushstrokes. Also impressive are the portraits of Irish heroes by the native artist Sean Keating. These realistic portraits, such as, "The Aran Fisherman," celebrate the traditional Gaelic virtues of strong, proud character and endurance of hardship.

Though many of the artists whose works are displayed partake in stylistic movements common to all Western art in the early modern period, the themes and emotions in their work reveal an artistic, and often troubled, soul which is uniquely Irish.

The works on display, which come from the private collection of Brian P. Burns, an Irish-American lawyer, entrepreneur and philanthropist, make up a priceless collection which reveals an entire artistic tradition largely ignored in the traditional study of early Modern Art.

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