Sir John Lavery: Passion and Politics

Passion and Politics is an apt name for an exhibition of Sir John Lavery's works - the man's life was steeped in these two subjects, whether he knew it or not. The overriding passion Lavery harboured for his wife Hazel is evident from his art: his portraits of her are as alluring as they are plentiful and are probably his best known works. It was upon Hazel's death in 1935 that a distraught Lavery donated a large collection of his paintings to the Hugh Lane Gallery; these works form the nucleus of the Passion and Politics exhibition opening on July 15.

Politics, however, was more of a confused issue for the painter. The artist's career was launched when he began hanging around with and painting portraits of London's fin-de-siecle High Society (the same types of folks Oscar Wilde would poke fun at in the likes of The Importance of Being Earnest). The Belfast-born artist also received both commissions and a knighthood from Queen Victoria, yet at the same time, Lavery was offering his support to Irish troops in the War of Independence. Though this may seem like political hypocrisy to many a staunch Republican, it's this bizarre conflict of interests and confusion of identity that adds a little intrigue to the works on show in this exhibition. Supplemented with film and archive material, the collection is set to illustrate not only the lives of John and Hazel Lavery, but also the turbulent socio-political backdrop against which they lived.

Even the history of the Hugh Lane Gallery itself is steeped in politics. Founded in 1908, making it the first public modern art gallery in Europe, the gallery is the product of an era of great enthusiasm for Irish culture. The GAA, the Gaelic League, the National Theatre Movement and with it, the Abbey Theatre, were all established around the turn of the twentieth century; meanwhile the ‘Celtic Twilight' of Irish literature, figure-headed by Yeats, was flourishing. This is no coincidence: as Ireland struggled for independence, it also struggled for a strong cultural identity. For Hugh Lane, forming a public gallery of modern art was vital to this goal - his idea was that his collection of avant-garde European artworks would not only bring cultural prestige to Ireland, it would also inspire legions of Irish men and women to pick up paintbrushes and thus create a vibrant art scene to rival that of Paris.

In a way, Lavery epitomised Lane's ambitions for his gallery: by painting and then donating many of his works to the collection, he both added to Ireland's artistic curriculum vitae himself as well as making his art publicly available, inspiring others to do the same. His legacy endures and Lavery continues to be admired by collectors both here and abroad to this day. His glittering portrait of his wife ‘The Gold Turban' headlined Sotherby's most recent Irish Art Sale, selling for half a million - eclipsing the likes of Jack Yeats and Louis le Brocquy. In the Passion and Politics exhibition, you'll find some equally enchanting portraits of Hazel and as well as a selection of other works, on display until October 31.

Words / Rosalind Abbott