His breakthrough came in 1888, when he was commissioned to document Queen Victoria’s State Visit to the Glasgow International Exhibition. The monumental canvas — a vivid portrayal of ceremony and stature — established his reputation as a confident recorder of contemporary life and invited entry into the highest circles of British and Irish society.
Lavery’s career flourished through portraits of luminaries such as Winston Churchill and Anna Pavlova, but it was his portrayal of his second wife, Hazel Lavery — painter and muse — that best captured intimate humanity. Hazel came to personify Ireland itself, her likeness gracing the Free State’s banknotes from 1928 for decades. Beneath Lavery’s urbane exterior lay an acute observation of melancholy and grace, whether in vivid beach scenes painted during his winters in Tangier or the moving works he created during the First World War as an official artist, despite personal injury.
Knighted in 1918 and elected as a Royal Academician in 1921, Lavery remained active through the 1930s, donating major works to Belfast and Dublin museums. His late-career landscapes and portraits reveal an artist at ease with charm, colour and quiet reflection — one whose legacy endures in collections from the Ulster Museum to the Imperial War Museum.
SIR JOHN LAVERY, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Croquet Party
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Terrace, Cap d'Ail
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Tennis, Hotel Beau Site, Cannes
SIR JOHN LAVERY, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Viscountess Castlerosse, Palm Springs
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Bathing Hour, Lido, Venice
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Maid was in the Garden Hanging out the Clothes
SIR JOHN LAVERY, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
A Villa on the Riviera
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
A Summer Evening - The Thames
SIR JOHN LAVERY, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Bay of Tunis, Morning
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (Irish, 1856-1941)
The Lady in White, Viscountess Wimborne
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.H.A., R.S.A. (1856-1941)
Aïda, a Moorish Maid
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Anna Pavlova as The Swan (Study)
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Little Equestrienne
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Cigar Seller at the Glasgow Exhibition
SIR JOHN LAVERY, R.S.A., R.H.A., R.A. (1856-1941)
The Hall, Argyll House - A Summer Day
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Little White Boats, Cap Ferrat
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Fore Cabin, H.M.S. Queen Elizabeth 16th November 1918
Sir John Lavery, R.S.A., R.H.A., R.A. (1856-1941)
The Green Hammock
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Moorish Flag, Hoisted on the German Legation, Tangier
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Glasgow International Exhibition
Sir John Lavery, R.S.A., R.S.A., R.A. (1856-1941)
After the Dance
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Swimming Pool, Southern France
SIR JOHN LAVERY, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
On The Sands
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A.(1856-1941)
On the Clyde
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.H.A., R.S.A. (1856-1941)
Mary in Black
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Miss Rosemary Hope-Vere and Bacchus
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.H.A., R.S.A. (1856-1941)
Dazzle a Mystery Ship
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The path by the river, Maidenhead
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The Palladian Bridge, Wilton House
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Maidenhead Regatta
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
The German Delegates' arrival on board H.M.S. Queen Elizabeth 15th November 1918
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
War Memories
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (Irish, 1856-1941)
Glasgow University and the Great Exhibition
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (Irish, 1856-1941)
The Path by the River, Maidenhead
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.H.A., R.S.A. (1856-1941)
Boating at Remenham
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Portrait of Cynthia Zur Nedden
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Portrait of Walter B. Harris
SIR JOHN LAVERY, R.S.A., R.H.A., R.A. (1856-1941)
Lady Gwendeline Spencer-Churchill in The Merchant of Venice
SIR JOHN LAVERY, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Tangier bay at night
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Mrs Patrick Campbell
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
'Don Roberto': Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham on Pampa
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Portrait of a Lady in Blue
SIR JOHN LAVERY, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Portrait of the Artist's Daughter, Alice
Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)
Mrs Langtry as a Bacchante