Sir John Lavery

This is a biography and critical analysis of Sir John Lavery (1856-1941), best-known as one of the "Glasgow Boys" and one of the most "French" of the British impressionists. Born in Belfast in 1856, he studied at Haldane Academy in Glasgow, and from there he travelled to France where he came under the influence of Bastien-Lepage. In 1885 he achieved international recognition for "The Tennis Party", a rendition of the sons and daughters of late-Victorian industrialists at play. After the International Exhibition at Glasgow in 1888, Lavery took on commissions as a portraitist and "visual reporter". He was a highly skilled on-the-spot sketcher as well as a painter of carefully planned ceremonial portraits which reveal the profound effect of Whistler's influence. His sitters were members of the aristocracy, leading politicians and personalities from three generations covering the period from 1880 to 1940. Ever versatile, Lavery produced memorable images on his sojourns in Tangier and his travels to France, Switzerland and the United States. Despite advancing years he was a daring official war artist and a recorder of the struggle for Irish independence. Two notable trips to Hollywood and Palm Springs, just before his death, introduced him to the world of cinema.