Jack Butler Yeats, R.H.A.

Victor Waddington Galleries from where bought by Senator Sean E. MacEllin, Calremorris, 1946 and thence by descent to the previous owner;
Private collection

Hilary Pyle, Jack B. Yeats, A catalogue raisonné of the oil paintings, Vol. II, Andre Deutsch, London, 1992, cat. no.810, p.732

STRUCTURE The board appears sound. There is a thin horizontal crack through the red pigment towards the centre of the left edge and two further small vertical cracks near the very upper right corner; these appear to correspond to where the panel was extended by the artist. Otherwise the work appears in good overall condition with very strong passages of impasto. ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT Under UV light there appear to be no signs of retouching. FRAME Held in a composite frame under glass; unexamined out of frame.
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The Princess of the Circus presents one of Yeat's favourite subjects – the circus. Here his painting captures a young show girl, the princess, and the ring-master as they dramatically enter the centre ring. The rest of the scene – the audience, the ring, the curtains – disappears into Yeats's characteristic heavy, atmospheric application of paint so that the emphasis is placed entirely on the two figures as they emerge in costumes of white and red. Yeats was fascinated by circus culture, from the posters and processions announcing their arrival to town, to the dynamics and relationships between the actual performers. It may be that this painting depicts a moment of the ring-master presenting his daughter to the audience, as circuses in Ireland were primarily family businesses and performers were usually born into them. Yeats then has captured an intimate moment in an inherently public setting, presenting a fascinatingly personal approach to a subject that he returned to throughout his career.