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SIR JOHN LAVERY RA RHA RSA (1856 - 1941)
The Gap of Dunloe
Oil on board, 50 x 60cm (19¾ x 24”)
Signed, also signed, inscribed “For the High Commissioner of the Irish Free State in London from the Artist” and
dated 1924 verso
The William Rodman Gallery Belfast (original label verso) and label from John Magee Gallery
Provenance : A gift from the artist to James McNeill, Ireland’s first High Commissioner to the Court of
St. James, London.
In August 1924 Lavery and his wife Hazel made their annual trip to Dublin for the Horse Show staying at the
Vice-Regal lodge with Tim Healy . They also attended the Aonach Tailteann games in Croke Park at the invitation of
W.B. Yeats.The Lavery’s then took an automobile tour of Wicklow,Wexford and Cork where they visited Bealnablath
on route to Kerry, staying with Lord Castlerosse at Kenmare House and at The Great Southern Hotel at Parknasilla.
The paintings done in the gardens of Kenmare House are well known but Lavery also endeavoured to paint a series
of southern landscapes taking their inspiration directly from the Kerry countryside, with the intention of staging
an ‘Irish’ exhibition. Unfortunately bad weather thwarted the artists intentions but he did manage to paint several
views of the Kerry Hills,such as this one, between showers . Another work from this suite of paintings was “
Bringing
home the turf : The Kingdom of Kerry
” which was sold in these rooms 4th December 2013 Lot 22. The artist was
intent on capturing the elusive and shifting light patterns of the moody Kerry landscape.
James McNeill served as the first High Commissioner to London and was also the second Governor-General of the
Irish Free State. Born in Glenarm Co. Antrim in 1869, McNeill served as a high-ranking member of the Indian Civil
Service in Mumbai for 25 years. On leaving the Indian Civil Service, he returned to Dublin to live with his brothers,
Eoin and Charles. McNeill became a Sinn Féin supporter following his brother Eoin’s involvement in the 1916 rising,
and his own arrest and confinement for a short time due to his brother’s connections. He was elected to Dublin
City Council in 1920, and served as chairman of the council in 1922. McNeill was then offered the position of High
Commissioner in December 1922, and he took up the position in London on January 8th 1923. McNeill was High
Commissioner for five years, when he left to return to Dublin to take up the position of second Governor General
of the Irish Free State, a position he held until 1932. He died in London in December 1938. Both James and his wife
Josephine whom he married in November 1923 were friends and regular guests at the Lavery’s Cromwell Place
home. Josephine McNeill writing to Audrey Morris wrote
“When I came to London .... Hazel’s house was a most gracious centre of hospitality to Irish political and artistic
personalities”. They were later to fall out when the McNeill’s took up residence at The Vice-regal lodge as Governor
General a position that Hazel Lavery had always hoped would go to her and her husband John.
We would like to acknowledge Dr. Kenneth McConkey and Sinéad McCoole whose research and writings formed
the basis of this catalogue entry.
€ 8,000 - 12,000