John Lavery

John Lavery (Born Belfast, 20 March 1856, died Kilkenny, 10 January 1941) was an Irish painter best known for his portraits.

Related Topics:
Belfast - 20 March - 1856 - Kilkenny - 10 January - 1941

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John Lavery attended the Haldane Academy in Glasgow, Scotland, in the 1870s and the Académie Julian in Paris in the early 1880s. He returned to Glasgow and was associated with the "Glasgow School". In 1888 he was commissioned to paint the state visit of Queen Victoria to the Glasgow International Exhibition. This launched his career as a society painter and he moved to London soon after. In London he became friendly with Whistler and was clearly influenced by him.

Related Topics:
Académie Julian - Queen Victoria - Glasgow International Exhibition - Whistler

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In 1909 John Lavery married for the second time, his first wife, who he married in 1889 had died of TB in 1891. Hazel Lavery née Martyn (1887-1935), an Irish-American known for her beauty and poise, was to figure in many of his painting, for example, the sumptious The Artist's Studio: Lady Hazel with her Daughter Alice and Step-Daughter Eileen which is in the National Gallery of Ireland. She also modelled for the figure of Ireland he painted on commission from the Irish government, this was reproduced on Irish banknotes from 1928 until 1975 and then as a watermark until the introduction of the Euro in 2002. She is reputed to have had affairs with Michael Collins and Kevin O'Higgins, the latter died with a letter to her in his pocket.

Related Topics:
TB - Hazel Lavery - National Gallery of Ireland - Irish banknotes - Euro - Michael Collins - Kevin O'Higgins

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Like William Orpen he was appointed as an official artist in the First World War, however, ill-health prevented him from travelling to the Western Front; he remained in Britain and mostly painted boats, planes and airships. After the war he was knighted and in 1921 he was elected to the Royal Academy. During this time, he and his wife both became interested in their Irish heritage and were tangentially involved in both the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War: they gave the use of their London home to the Irish negotiators during the Treaty negotiations. After Collins was killed, Lavery painted Michael Collins, Love of Ireland, now in the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery.

Related Topics:
William Orpen - First World War - Western Front - Royal Academy - Irish War of Independence - Irish Civil War - Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery

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In 1929 John Lavery made substantial donations of his work to both The Ulster Museum and the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery and in the 1930s he returned to Ireland. He received honorary degrees from Trinity College, Dublin and Queen's University, Belfast, he was also made a free man of both Dublin and Belfast.

Related Topics:
The Ulster Museum - Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery - Trinity College, Dublin - Queen's University, Belfast - Dublin - Belfast

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