Title - Lady Evelyn Farquhar(1903)

Artist - Sir John Lavery

In staging the portrait sittings for Lady Evelyn, Lavery deliberately simplified. A giltwood bergère and side table with white flowers were placed against a neutral backdrop. No engaging clutter detracted from the radiant presence of the sitter. She sits on the edge of the chair, confidently engaging the spectator and holding a pale blue sunshade which picks out the ribbon details of her silk and chiffon dress. A plumed hat with a dark veil of the type made famous by ‘Gibson’ girls, frames the face and suggests a young woman whose sophisticated fashion sense led her to avoid the kind of over-statement of which the painter greatly disapproved. If we interpret Lavery’s remarks, this was not enough of itself. Poise, tone, shape and space were the painter’s métier – the components of ‘treatment’ and ‘arrangement’, the key expressions in the consideration of Lady Evelyn’s image – were crucial.