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arts · Wednesday 22 July 2026 · 11am - 5pm 
Jack Butler Yeats; A Painted Universe
At The Model · The Mall, Sligo, F91 TP20
At The Model · The Mall, Sligo, F91 TP20
The Model’s major Jack Butler Yeats retrospective, A Painted Universe, continues through 27 September 2026, giving visitors an extended run to see one of the gallery’s flagship shows. Yeats (1871-1957) is one of Ireland’s most significant twentieth-century painters and the brother of poet W. B. Yeats; the Yeats family’s long association with Sligo, where the children spent much of their childhood, runs through the artist’s work. The Model holds one of the largest public collections of his paintings anywhere, drawn from the Niland Collection.
A Painted Universe draws on that collection to trace Yeats’s development from illustrator to one of the most distinctive painters of his generation, with work spanning his career and showing the shift from tighter early technique to the loose, expressive brushwork of his later paintings. The exhibition runs alongside a second show, The Living Ginger, so visitors can see a broader cross-section of his output across both rooms in one visit. Guided tours of the collection also run separately on Thursday mornings for those who want a led route through the work rather than a self-guided visit. Admission to both exhibitions is free.
The Model is on The Mall in Sligo town centre, within walking distance of the bus and rail station and the rest of the town. Public parking is available nearby, and the gallery building is wheelchair accessible.
The exhibition is a natural stop while exploring Sligo town, close to the river walk and the town centre’s shops and cafes. There is more of the Yeats connection to explore across Co. Sligo, including the family’s grave at Drumcliff under Benbulben.
Heading to The Model in Sligo? Sligo has plenty more to see. Read the Sligo area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.