Jack Butler Yeats RHA (1871-1957)The Sick Bed (1950)Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 61cm (18 x 24'')SignedProvenance: Sold through Victor Waddington Galleries, April 1952 to S. Briskin, USA; Waddington Galleries London; Private Collection.Literature: Hilary Pyle, 'A Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings', Andre Deutsch, 1992, Catalogue No.1034, illustrated Vol. III, p.526.Yeats’s painting refers both to the sentimentality and to the genuine emotion of Victorian sick room imagery, in which the surroundings serve as ‘a haven of comfort, order and natural affection’ in contrast to the complexities of the world outside. The work concentrates on the psychological and emotional interaction between the two protagonists, the patient and the visitor. The man in a dark blue suit and tie sits at the bedside of a woman whose head is reclining on a pillow. He gazes intently at the patient, his concern conveyed by the concentration of his expression and by the pose of his body as he leans towards his companion. Impasto paint is used to mould his narrowed eyes in a simple fashion. The head of the woman is sculpted out of very thick paint. Its pallor indicates her physical weakness and strongly differentiates her from her attendant. Between the two profiles, a window opens onto a vista of blue and green landscape and sky. This alleviates the tension of the encounter and brings in an element of peace and natural beauty. To the left a yellow chequered pattern can be discerned, suggestive of wallpaper or perhaps a curtain round the bed.The light tonalities of the colours makes this a remarkably tranquil representation of a poignant encounter while the dynamic use of brushstroke suggests movement and life. Paint is very thinly applied across large parts of the composition, revealing the surface of the canvas and foregrounding the physical construction of the painting. As in many of Yeats’s later works the viewer is prompted to engage with how the work has been made rather than passively absorbing its ostensible subject matter. The physical construction of the painting works against the sentimentality of the latter, forcing the viewer to question its veracity.Dr. Roisin Kennedy, February 2020[1] Miriam Bailin, The Sickroom in Victorian Fiction: The Art of Being Ill, (Cambridge University Press, 1994)