William Butler Yeats 1908

John Singer Sargent rendered this charcoal drawing of William Butler Yeats around 1908, capturing the Irish poet during a time of significant cultural and political change. Yeats, a figure deeply embedded in the Irish literary revival, sought to articulate a distinctly Irish identity through his work. This drawing appears to reflect the complexities of his position. Sargent, an American expatriate known for his society portraits, captures Yeats with a certain romanticism, characteristic of the era's aesthetic leanings. However, there’s also a palpable sense of introspection in Yeats’s gaze. Yeats was very aware of his image and cultivated a persona of the Irish poet. He once stated, "It is so many years before one can believe enough in what one sees to have the right to record it." This suggests a keen awareness of the power of representation. The portrait leaves us to consider the negotiation between personal identity and cultural representation, and invites us to reflect on the stories we tell ourselves and others.