Jack B. Yeats – Donnelly’s Hollow. UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 391,475
Donnelly’s Hollow by Jack B. Yeats will lead Bonhams Modern British and Irish art sale in London on June 13. The painting depicts the natural amphitheatre at the Curragh in County Kildare where, in 1815, the Irish boxer Dan Donnelly defeated the English champion, George Cooper. The victory assumed lasting political significance in Ireland as a symbol of resistance to the British occupation, and a commemorative monument was erected at the site.
Donnelly was famous for the extent of his reach – he had unusually long arms – and for the ferocity of his punch which was delivered with bare knuckles (boxing gloves only became compulsory in 1867). He was, however, as wild out of the ring as in it. His prodigal lifestyle finally caught up with him, and he died penniless in 1820 at the age of 32. For many years, his right arm was displayed in a pub in Kilcullen.
Boxing was a passion for the sports-mad Yeats, and Donnelly’s Hollow is one in a series of paintings that revisit in maturity the obsessions of the artist’s youth. The scene shows a group of visitors paying homage at the monument, and features Yeats himself standing on the hill looking down on it, meditatively. It is estimated at £300,000-500,000 (€340,000-570,000).