Any study of North Belfast’s prominent art and artists would be incomplete without mentioning Sir John Lavery! Although his time in Belfast was brief, he maintained a strong connection with the area, and in particular, with his boyhood church on Donegall Street.

Lavery was born in Belfast in 1856, and was baptised in St Patrick’s Church on Donegall Street. Tragically, John was orphaned at a young age. His father, Henry, was a spirit merchant nearby, and shortly after John was born, he sought to change the fortunes of his struggling business, and travelled to America in 1859, with the hope of earning enough money to send for his family to join him. Henry would never make it to American Shores, as the ship he was travelling on, the Pomona, struck a sandbank off Wexford, and sank. 424 of the 448 passengers and crew died in sinking. Henry was never able to fulfil his dream of migrating his family to America for a more prosperous life.

The shock and grief caused by Henry’s sudden death is thought to have killed his wife, Mary, only three months later. John Lavery, alongside his older brother Henry and younger sister Jane, were now orphans in Victorian Belfast. The children were cared for by their other relations, with John and Henry moving to Moira with their uncle, Edward Lavery, to work and live on his farm, whilst Jane stayed in Belfast with their Uncle Richard.

John’s passion for art began to manifest after leaving Belfast to study in Glasgow, Scotland at the age of fifteen. During this time, he balanced work as a photographers’ apprentice and attended classes at the Haldene Academy of Arts. He later moved to London in 1879 where he spent 6 months attending classes at The Heatherley School of Fine Art. A later move to Paris in 1881, and a stint at the Académie Julian helped Lavery hone his artistic skills.

Although Lavery was, by this stage, a qualified and capable artist, it wasn’t until 1888, when he would be seen as one of the premier artists in Britain, as it was in 1888 when he was requested to paint Queen Victoria at the National Exhibition in Glasgow. The “State Visit of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria to the Glasgow International Exhibition, 1888” took 2 years to complete, with Lavery meticulously placing over 250 individuals in attendance, ensuring that all could be seen clearly. After it was unveiled in 1890, Lavery became a coveted painter across high British society. 1890 proved an important year for Lavery as it was also the year he married his first wife Kathleen MacDermott. Tragically Kathleen would die shortly after the birth of their daughter Eileen from Tuberculosis: The same illness that would take Eileen’s life 45 years later. Following his loss, Lavery embarked on an European tour that would spread word of his talent beyond Britain.

In 1909 Lavery married again, to the Irish-American socialite Hazel Martyn who he had met in France. Hazel became Lavery’s muse and was the subject of more than 400 of her husband’s paintings. Some of you may have had in your possession, a painting of Hazel by John Lavery…although you may not have realised it! In Lavery was commissioned to provide the artwork on the new Irish banknotes in 1928. Tasked with depicting a female figure which represented Ireland, two weeks later, Lavery presented the image of his own wife. Hazel is shown with a shawl and an Irish harp, set in a background of a traditional Irish landscape of lakes and mountains. The so called ‘Lady Lavery Series’ remained in circulation on Irish banknotes until the 1970s, and the series is widely regarded as amongst the most iconic and beautiful of modern bank notes

Whilst Hazel was the subject of many of Lavery’s works, during the First World War, he was tasked with painting a very different topic as he was appointed as an official war artist. Due to injuries sustained in a car crash that took place during a Zepplin Raid, Lavery was unable to travel to the Western Front. Instead, he remained in Britain and mainly painted scenes from the home front, including the fleet at Scapa Flow. Many of these paintings are held by the Imperial War Museum.

John Lavery’s artwork benefitted from various outside influences, from his international upbringing and studies, to his involvement in international politics and foreign travel. Lavery, however, never lost touch with his North Belfast roots. On Easter day in 1919 Lavery presented St Patrick’s Church with a gift of an ornate triptych; ‘Madonna of the Lakes’. The Madonna was modelled on his wife Hazel, St Patrick was modelled on his daughter Eileen and St Brigid on his step-daughter Alice. The Donegall Street Church still proudly presents the impressive triptych today, which can be viewed behind a protective glass case by all visitors. In 2019, John Lavery was awarded a Blue plaque on Donegall Street to commemorate the birthplace of the iconic artist. Far from being confined to the life of misfortune Lavery initially had, Lavery crafted an impressive international reputation for creativity that lasts today. Lavery died in 1947 in Co.Kilkenny and joined his beloved wife Lady Hazel in her grave in London. Whilst his time in Belfast was short, and filled with tragedy, his connection to his first church and his native parish remained strong, and although he may be seen as a ‘Glasgow Boy’ by some, here in North Belfast, we know he will always be one of ours!

This work was updated in 2025 to include new information, formatting and up to date pictures and permissions.