Lavery on Location: Curator’s View

Gain expert insights about Sir John Lavery in this free talk on Friday 17th May with Professor Kenneth McConkey, the acknowledged authority on Lavery and co-curator of the exhibition.

More than once John Lavery ruminated on the nature of his activity as a painter. In a 1928 interview, the artist declared, ‘It must be real if I see it, everything real must be equally valuable. I will set down all of it. It is my duty to set down all of it.’

Why did Lavery feel this abiding sense of duty? How did he control his restless need for new visual experience, a little of which we see in Lavery On Location?

In this talk, Professor Kenneth McConkey will explore Lavery's world where the painter’s ‘present’ is in constant flux and ‘all of it’ becomes an unattainable ideal. As for the little red book, all will be revealed.

What to know

• This is a free talk, please book a space via the link below.
• The talk will take place in the Ulster Museum Lecture Theatre.
• This talk is recommended for students and adults. 
• Children should be accompanied by an adult at all times. 

About Kenneth McConkey

Born in Belfast, Kenneth McConkey is Emeritus Professor of Art History at Northumbria University where he held the post of Dean of Arts until his retirement in 2005. A specialist in British and Irish art in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he is the author of nine books, and over one hundred exhibition catalogues and articles. His most recent book, Towards the Sun, the Artist Traveller at the turn of the Twentieth Century, (2021), for which he received a Leverhulme Fellowship, was shortlisted for the Berger Prize. He is co-curator of Lavery on Location and author of the accompanying catalogue.

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Lavery on Location is a partnership between the National Gallery of Ireland, National Museums NI and the National Gallery of Scotland.