Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A.

Bonhams, Edinburgh, 8 December 2011, lot 116

Glasgow, Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1881, no 577;
Paisley, Paisley Art Institute, 1882, no 215

Kenneth McConkey, John Lavery, A Painter and his World, 2010, Atelier Books, p.15

The board appears sound and the work is presented in a ready to hang condition. Under UV light there are some spots and flecks of retouching apparent in parts, including to the skin tones. Most significantly, there are some areas to the left hand side of the background. Presented in a heavy gilt composition frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Lavery’s earliest exhibited works in Paisley and Glasgow indicate his reliance on saleable romantic subject matter. As a part-time student at the Haldane Academy (Glasgow School of Art), while working for a photographer to support himself, he had little success at first, but between 1879 and his removal to Paris in November 1881, his work developed rapidly. While experimenting with modern life subjects and portraiture, popular authors such as Dickens, Goethe, Scott and Shakespeare supplied him with heroines. His quotation which accompanies the title in the present instance, is taken from the closing lines of stanza five of Tennyson’s Mariana in the South, a reworking of the theme of rejection in love, derived from Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. The reference is however, of little significance, since as one contemporary observed, Lavery habitually gave romantic titles to simple studio studies in order to make them saleable.

We are grateful to Kenneth McConkey for preparing this catalogue note.