Sir John Lavery (1856-1941)

Born in Belfast, but soon orphaned, Lavery spent his early years on his uncle's farm. At the age of ten, more family problems led to his relocation to Scotland where he attended the Haldane Academy in Glasgow. Afterwards he worked as an apprentice photographer and, from this experience he developed an ambition to become a portrait painter. He travelled to Paris in 1881, where he studied drawing at the Academie Julian and fine art painting at Colarossi's studio. In 1883, he spent time at the artists' colony of Grez-sur-Loing, and made friends with the older Irish artist Frank O'Meara as well as the French painter Jules Bastien-Lepage, both of whom influenced his painting. In 18...