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THE Trustees of Muckross House and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, were successful this week in their bid to purchase a painting by John Butler Yeats, which is of historic significance to Muckross House.

“Yeats: the Family Collection” was auctioned yesterday at Sotheby’s in London. The painting, “Mrs Herbert of Muckross with a Maltese Terrier” is by John Butler Yeats (JBY). This was the artist’s first big commission which he received in 1872 and completed in 1873.

It was painted in front of the wallpaper that is still perfectly preserved in Muckross House. She was born Emily Julia Charlotte Keane in January 1848 and married Major Henry Arthur Herbert (known as Harry) in October 1866. It is said that, shortly after the painting was completed, Mrs Herbert left Muckross and never returned. Consequently, her husband refused to accept the portrait and it ended up in the room of JBY’s friend Edward Dowden, at Trinity College.

Following the death of Dowden, the painting was returned to the Yeats family where it since remained. Emily and Harry were divorced in 1882. She died in 1911.
Geraldine Rosney, Chairperson of the Trustees of Muckross House, said the Trustees are happy to welcome it to its rightful place.

“The acquisition of such a significant painting is a further example of this commitment on the part of the Board of Trustees. I’d like to thank the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht who assisted us in making this purchase and without whose help it would not have been possible,” she said. The Trustees are looking forward to unveiling the painting in the very near future.