Sir John Lavery was an Irish artist. In early 1940 he moved from London to live with his step daughter, Alice, at Rossenarra House, Kilmoganny, Co Kilkenny in order to escape the London blitz. Lavery had become famous as a celebrity portrait painter and painter of wartime scenes. He had been a frequent visitor to Rossenarra house during the previous years and had painted a portrait of Alice and her family at their home in 1935. His paintings still attract attention and in 2007 ‘The Bridge at Grez’ (1884) was sold at Christie’s, in London, for £1,321,500
Lavery was born in Belfast on March 20th 1856. Both his parents died when he was young. He was raised by relatives, at first in Ireland and later in Scotland. He studied art at the Haldane Academy of Art (Glasgow Art School). Lavery later studied in France where he was a contemporary of Carlow artist Frank O Meara
In 1889 John Lavery married Kathleen MacDermott. They had one daughter, Eileen, who was born in 1890. Kathleen died of tuberculosis in 1891 and in 1909 Lavery married Irish-American widow Hazel Martyn. She was a native of Chicago and had a daughter Alice from her previous marriage.
Following Irish independence the Currency Commission was established by the Irish Government to design coins and banknotes for Ireland. It was determined that each banknote would have the portrait of a woman. Lavery was commissioned to provide the portrait for which Hazel Lavery was the model. The image which he painted remained on Irish banknotes from 1928 until 1975. In 1975 it became the banknote watermark until the Euro was introduced in 2002.
In 1930 Lavery was awarded the Freedom of Belfast City. He was made a Freeman of Dublin in 1935. Lavery was awarded honorary degrees by both Trinity College Dublin and the Queen’s University of Belfast. His last complete painting ‘Gypsy Encampment’ was painted at Rossenarra House in 1940.

Sir John Lavery
Photo by irinaraquel