John Lavery

Background

John Lavery was born on March 20, 1856 in Belfast, Ireland. He was a son of Mary (Donnelly) Lavery and Henry Lavery.

Education

As a teenager, Lavery was apprenticed to a photographer from Glasgow. During the late 1870's, he attended classes at the Haldane Academy in Glasgow. In the early 1880's, John settled down in Paris, where he studied at the Académie Julian and Académie Colarossi. Also, during this period, he was influenced by Jules Bastien-Lepage and painted in the open air and naturalist style.

Also, the painter received honorary degrees from the University of Dublin and Queen's University Belfast.

Career

In 1885, John Lavery returned to Glasgow from France and became one of the leading members of the Glasgow School. Some time later, in 1888, he was commissioned to paint the state visit of Queen Victoria to the Glasgow International Exhibition. This commission helped him to establish himself as a society painter. Shortly after that, Lavery left for London, where he befriended James McNeill Whistler and was clearly influenced by him. In 1898, together with Whistler, Lavery founded the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, where he served as vice president until 1908.

During the period of the World War I, John served as an official artist. However, he wasn't able to travel to the Western Front because of his poor health. Lavery remained in Britain, where he painted boats, airplanes and airships.

Between 1920-1921, John and his second wife Hazel were tangentially involved in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. In 1929, Lavery made substantial donations of his work to both the Ulster Museum and the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery and in the 1930's, he returned to Ireland.

In 1935, having a strong desire to paint celebrities, Lavery traveled to Hollywood. With the outbreak of the Second World War, he was obliged to return. Also, he visited such countries, as Morocco, Italy, Spain, Germany and Holland, and these visits inspired many of his works.

Also, being a member of Glasgow Art Club, John took part in its annual shows, including the exhibition in 1939, in which his work "The Lake at Ranelagh" was included.

Achievements

• John Lavery was a well-known painter, who gained prominence for his portraits and wartime depictions. His works are greatly admired for his development of the aesthetic value of the sketch, in which each touch of the brush is left undisguised to create a vibrant and atmospheric effect. John's most famous work is "The Chess Players".
  
  Together with his friend James McNeill Whistler, John established the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, where he acted as a vice president. In 1918, Lavery was knighted.
  
  Today, the painter's works are kept in the collections of numerous galleries and museums, including Aberdeen Art Gallery, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Tate Gallery, National Gallery of Ireland and others.

Works

More photos

• painting

  • Mrs. Guthrie

  • Sutton Courtenay, (Summer on the River or The Wharf)

  • The Tennis Party

  • The Red Rose

  • King George V, Accompanied by Queen Mary, at the Opening of the Modern Foreign and Sargent Galleries at the Tate Gallery, June 26, 1926

  • Evelyn Farquhar

  • Aïda, a Moorish Maid

  • The Fairy Fountain, Glasgow International Exhibition

  • The Jockeys' Dressing Room at Ascot

  • The Chess Players

  • The Opening of the Modern Foreign and Sargent Galleries at the Tate Gallery, June 26, 1926

  • Le Mort du Cygne: Anna Pavlova

  • Japanese Switzerland

  • Boating on the Thames

  • Bathing in the Lido, Venice

  • Mrs. Lavery sketching

  • The Glasgow Exhibition

  • The Golf Course, North Berwick

Views

Quotations: "I think every art student starts with the belief, that when he has gained a knowledge of the language he will be able to say something, that has not been said before. In the majority of cases, as he goes on, he finds, that what he has to say has been said by somebody else, perhaps in language he can never aspire to."

Membership

John Lavery was also a member of Glasgow Art Club.

• co-founder

  International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers , United Kingdom

  1898

• vice president

  International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers , United Kingdom

  1898 - 1908

• 

  Royal Academy of Arts , United Kingdom

  1921

Connections

In 1889, John married his first wife, Kathleen MacDermott, who died of tuberculosis in 1891, shortly after their daughter Eileen was born. Some time later, in 1909, Lavery married his second wife, whose name was Hazel Lavery. She was also a painter.

Father:

Henry Lavery

Mother:

Mary (Donnelly) Lavery

child:

Eileen Lavery

First wife:

Kathleen MacDermott

Second wife:

Hazel Lavery

Friend:

James McNeill Whistler

References

• John Lavery: A Painter and His World This is a book about the life and work of an Irish painter John Lavery.
  2010
• Sir John Lavery
  1994
• John Lavery and His Work
  1911