Sir John Lavery: "The Belfast Orphan Who Painted History"
Meet Sir John Lavery
Sir John Lavery (1856-1941) was a painter from Northern Ireland best known for his portraits of Michael Collins, Churchhill and Queen Victoria.
Yet despite being the most famous painter of his day, the Belfast-born boy came from humble-beginnings.
Baptised in St. Patricks Church, the Cathedral Quarter native was orphaned at a young age when his mother died in childbirth and his father died at sea — after which he lived in Moira with his extended family before moving across the pond to work as a photographer's apprentice.
It was there that John developed his passion and talent for art — one that would take him on an extraordinary journey all over the world, and back again to Belfast.
In today's episode, we discover the amazing life and legacy of one of Belfast's most famous individuals while diving deep into the history of the streets he once called home.
Along the way, we meet historians, priests, art curators, modern-day painters and even a publican to try and understand why his story is important for us today.
Check it out.
Introducing The Streets Where They Lived…
This episode is part of The Streets Where They Lived: a new documentary collaboration between Successful Belfast, the Belfast Buildings Trust, and Best of Belfast.
The six-part series will feature the stories of six incredible but sometimes overlooked men and women from Belfast and some of the buildings and places in the City with which they’re connected. We’ll hear from family members and people who know their story to help us better understand some of the lesser-told stories of the City.
The people and buildings have been chosen to reflect a diverse set of Belfast’s people: working-class to Knights, industrial power to sporting prowess, immigrants and survivors, and covers buildings from Arts centres to the old Town Hall, red-brick terraced houses to historic Victorian churches and industrial complexes.
The project is a collaboration with Successful Belfast, a project of Belfast Buildings Trust. It is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Belfast Buildings Trust is a charity founded in 1996 to regenerate Belfast’s landmark buildings. The Trust works to ensure that the City’s authentic heritage is made relevant for people today. One of its projects is Successful Belfast, which champions new and creative ways of involving people in Belfast’s future development.
Support for the series came from a wide range of local historians, heritage, and civic organisations. All of them helped make today’s podcast possible.
The Streets Where They Lived is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
John Lavery’s episode was written by me Matthew Thompson and produced/edited by Owen McFadden.
More Information About Lavery
He taught Churchhill how to paint
His wife Hazel featured in many of his paintings
The couple would often spend winters in the warmth of Tangier
John’s father owned a Spirits Shop opposite St Patrick’s Church
He is one of nearly 1 million babies baptised in St Patrick’s font!
His first creative job was retouching photographs (adding colour to black & white)
Lavery was part of ‘The Glasgow Boys’
He studied in his craft in Paris
Towards the end of his life he was given the freemason of the city award in both Belfast and Dublin
How To Listen To This John Lavery Documentary
If you don’t have time to tune in right now, you can listen to today’s show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast or your favourite podcast app.
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Thanks again for taking the time to listen to this special episode all about John Lavery.
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See you next time.
Cheers!
— Matt
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