If you have not yet managed to see it there is still time to catch a marvellous show at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin. Life Above Everything brings together the work of Lucian Freud (1922-2011) and Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957). Freud had a lifelong interest in the work of Yeats and admired its force and energy. He did not cite Yeats as an influence but seems to have found common purpose with its originality and independence. A pen and ink drawing by Yeats, The Dancing Stevedores, hung beside Freud’s bed forI over 20 years. Unique to the show is a group of seven paintings by Yeats which Freud selected for a close friend, advising him which works to acquire. Freud’s first visit to Ireland in 1948 has been described, at least in part, as a pilgrimage to the site of Yeats’ work. They exhibited together only one in their lifetimes, at the inaugural show at the ICA in London in 1948. Freud’s work has been exhibited with that of other artists, but this is the first time that it is presented with a single other artist. The show runs until January 19.
