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William Butler Yeats 1865–1939
Arguably the greatest English-language poet of his generation, William Butler Yeats was deeply involved both in the Irish literary renaissance and the cause of Irish nationalism. This portrait was commissioned as the frontispiece to the first volume of Yeats's Collected Poems, published in 1908. Fifteen years later, in 1923, Yeats received the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation."
Sargent's drawing greatly pleased the poet, who described it as "a charming aerial sort of thing, very flattering as I think." Yeats cultivated his appearance as a poet and an aesthete, confessing that he wore a velvet coat and bow tie "to remind himself of his own importance as an artist!" Sargent's moody characterization helped burnish the poet's image.
Charcoal on paper, 1908
Collection of Anne Peretz
This is the National Portrait Gallery sign in the exhibit. |