Ireland’s artistic tradition is remarkably rich, encompassing painting, illustration, printmaking, stained glass, book design and the distinctive collaborations between Irish artists, writers and private presses. For collectors, Irish art extends far beyond paintings on canvas. Original drawings, signed prints, illustrated books, exhibition catalogues and artist’s books can provide an accessible and fascinating route into the work of Ireland’s most important artists.
Jack B. Yeats and the Art of Ireland
Few figures occupy a more important place in twentieth-century Irish art than Jack B. Yeats (1871–1957). The younger brother of W.B. Yeats, he began his career as an illustrator before increasingly concentrating on watercolour and, after his return to Ireland, oil painting.
His subjects frequently drew upon everyday Irish life: fairs, race meetings, circuses, sailors, street scenes and the people and landscapes of the West of Ireland. His style developed considerably during his career, moving from relatively precise illustrative work towards the expressive use of colour and paint for which his later pictures are celebrated.
For book collectors, however, Yeats is particularly interesting because his graphic art is inseparable from the history of Irish publishing. His illustrations appeared in books and periodicals, while his extraordinary contribution to the Cuala Press Broadsides placed visual art alongside poetry, ballads and Irish popular culture.
Original Cuala Press publications and illustrated works by Jack B. Yeats consequently occupy an unusual position at the intersection of Irish art, literature and rare-book collecting.
William Orpen and the Irish Academic Tradition
Sir William Orpen (1878–1931) represents another important strand of Irish art. Born in Stillorgan, County Dublin, Orpen studied at Dublin’s Metropolitan School of Art before continuing his training in London. He became one of the outstanding portrait painters of his generation and later served as an official war artist during the First World War.
Drawings, letters, exhibition catalogues and books connected with Orpen provide collectors with a documentary record of an Irish artist whose career extended far beyond Ireland.
Irish Modernism
The development of modern Irish art brought a striking change in direction. Artists including Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone introduced European modernist influences into an artistic environment that could initially be resistant to abstraction.
Jellett’s importance is particularly significant. Having studied in Dublin and London, she continued her artistic education in Paris and became one of the leading advocates of modernism in Ireland. Her work helped connect Irish art with wider European developments in Cubism and abstraction.
Later generations would continue to expand the international reputation of Irish art. Louis le Brocquy, for example, became a central figure in twentieth-century Irish painting while also making an exceptional contribution to the illustrated book. His celebrated images for Thomas Kinsella’s The Táin demonstrate how successfully modern Irish literature, typography and visual art could be brought together.
Irish Art and the Rare Book
This relationship between artist and book is one of the most rewarding areas for collectors.
Books illustrated or designed by important Irish artists can sometimes provide an opportunity to acquire their work in the form originally intended for a reading public. Limited editions, signed copies, private-press publications, portfolios and books containing original prints are especially desirable when complete and well preserved.
The field encompasses artists as varied as Jack B. Yeats, Harry Clarke, Louis le Brocquy, Mainie Jellett, Evie Hone and Elizabeth Rivers, while the Cuala and Dolmen presses provide particularly fertile territory for collectors.
Condition, edition, limitation and provenance are important. Original dust-jackets, portfolios and slipcases can materially affect desirability, while signed or specially limited issues require careful bibliographical identification.
Collecting Irish Art Today
The attraction of collecting Irish art lies partly in its extraordinary breadth. A collection might concentrate on a single artist, the Irish Revival, twentieth-century modernism, illustrated books, original drawings or the relationship between Irish writers and artists.
At De Búrca Rare Books, we have handled Irish art books, original prints, drawings, illustrated editions and private-press publications for many years. From Jack B. Yeats and the Cuala Press to the great illustrated books of twentieth-century Ireland, these works offer a tangible connection with the development of Irish visual culture.
For collectors of rare Irish art books and Irish prints, they also demonstrate something fundamental: in Ireland, the histories of art and literature have rarely existed separately.
