Portrait of John O'Leary – John Butler Yeats (1904)

The face of an unbroken Fenian — painted in 1904 by Ireland's greatest portraitist of the Revival era.

Portrait of John O'Leary (1830–1907)

John Butler Yeats's portrait of John O'Leary captures the veteran Fenian leader in his final years — the man whose unwavering principle inspired W.B. Yeats's famous line, "Romantic Ireland's dead and gone, it's with O'Leary in the grave." O'Leary spent twenty years in penal exile for his role in the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and returned to become a guiding force of the Irish Literary Revival. Yeats's father painted him with the gravity the subject deserved: dignified, weathered, completely his own man.

Sizes & Format

• 30 × 40 cm / 12 × 16″
• 60 × 80 cm / 24 × 32″
• Available unframed on fine art quality matte paper, or framed in oak, black or white

About the Artist

John Butler Yeats (1839–1922) was a Dublin portraitist and father of W.B. Yeats and Jack B. Yeats. He had a rare gift for revealing the inner life of his subjects, and was the painter of choice for the leading figures of the Irish Cultural Revival.

Print Quality

Printed on 250 gsm archival matte paper using pigment inks rated for 100+ years. National Gallery of Ireland Collection. Free worldwide shipping, ships in 2–5 business days.