Sir John Lavery

Sir John Lavery (1856–1941) was an Irish-born portrait and genre painter who became one of the most celebrated society portraitists of his era, renowned for his elegant depictions of Edwardian aristocracy, military subjects, and intimate domestic scenes. Trained in Glasgow, London, and Paris, he was deeply influenced by the French Impressionists and James McNeill Whistler, developing a fluid, luminous style that earned him widespread acclaim and a knighthood in 1918. His wife Hazel Lavery served as the model for the allegorical figure of Éire on Irish banknotes, underscoring his lasting cultural significance.