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

(1856-1941)

A Lady in Brown (thought to be Margaret Edith Bannatyne Cobb) 74 x 59.7 cm. (29 1/8 x 23 1/2 in.)

Footnotes

Provenance
Possibly Mark Bannatyne Esq.
Possibly Margaret Edith Bannatyne, (later Mrs Margaret Edith Bannatyne Cobb)
Sale; James Adams & Bonhams, Dublin, 28 May 1997, lot 89A, where acquired by the present owner
Private Collection, Ireland

Although sometimes perceived as a competitor of John Singer Sargent, John Lavery, both before and after the present picture was painted, was hailed as the most sympathetic Edwardian painter of women.

While 'Mr Sargent ... whose genius in sheer craft' was universally admired, in the words of one contemporary critic, it was Lavery who caught 'the grace of a woman's movement, even her thought ... and the world does not readily forget the true expression of these things' ('Art and Artists. Paintings by John Lavery', The Globe, 24 June 1908, p.4). The present canvas carries this ring of truth. Its subject holds the gaze.

At a time when painters, following the examples of Giovanni Boldini and Joaquín Sorolla, indulged in pyrotechnics, Lavery was confident in his restraint. When others seemed to support the flourish of the couture and millinery houses, he was penetrating. And while contemporaries often played to the chosen social role of a sitter, looking for evidence of grandeur, he delved deep for the mind's construction in the face. More than mere face painting, a Lavery portrait is a presence and such is the compelling passivity of A Lady in Brown that we are left wondering who she might be.

Although many Lavery portraits are unproblematic in these terms, there are occasions where commissions cannot easily be matched to recorded works. We can nevertheless be fairly certain that A Lady in Brown represents Margaret Edith Bannatyne, the daughter of Mark Bannatyne, a wealthy partner in Bannatyne, Kirkwood and Co, one of the oldest and most respected firms of Glasgow solicitors. In the previous year, Edith's elder sister, Kathleen, had been painted by Lavery, and we can only assume that so satisfactory was the result, the second commission was booked.

Bannatyne, (b. 1841) the young women's father, must have been well aware of Lavery's pre-eminence among the Glasgow School painters since he had painted the State Visit of Queen Victoria to the Glasgow International Exhibition 1888, and more recently, the impressive Modern Glasgow mural of 1899-1901, in the City Chambers. Although Lavery was now living in London, his reputation spanned Europe and the United States – the ultimate accolade being not one but two recent purchases by the French State. For Bannatyne, what better proof of status could there be than to have his daughters painted by Glasgow's prima-painter.

However, 'name' is only one aspect of identity – and a minor one at that. Aesthetic distinction for an artist like Lavery was much more important. One was looking for qualities of colour, tone and handling that lifted the painted effigy into a higher realm. A portrait was also a picture; it should hold the eye. By 1905 Lavery had painted a number of works 'in brown', that were 'harmonies' in the Whistlerian sense. With one of these he had an astonishing and unexpected achievement, winning the first Carnegie International Exhibition Gold Medal in Pittsburgh in 1896. Here and in the present work, close observation of tonal and colour harmonies emphasised reticence, in contrast to the flashy brushwork of others. There was no superficiality, no quick and easy solutions. Standing before A Lady in Brown, we are vividly in the company of another human being.

We are grateful to Professor Kenneth McConkey for compiling this catalogue entry.