Jack Butler Yeats; Salt Water Ballads
Thu. 3 Jun. 2021 – Thu. 31 Mar. 2022
We are proud to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jack Butler Yeats in his home town of Sligo. This very special exhibition entitled Salt Water Ballads, showcases for the very first time, a suite of 21 newly conserved, sea-themed watercolours, as well as Yeats’ own collection of model boats. These pieces were generously gifted to The Model in 2018 by a private donor, and were conserved thanks to support from the Heritage Council in 2020.
New original artworks by Yeats were revealed during the conservation process, and they will be on view, alongside several other maritime works, for visitors to enjoy in public for the very first time. These works tell the fascinating story of Theodore, the Pirate, a character invented by Yeats, and documented in several of his artworks and stories.
The show will also give audiences the chance to view for the first time, the tiny figure of Theodore, which was discovered during the conservation process stowed into one of the model boats.
Artworks
Photography by Daniel McDonald
