Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. (1856-1941)

With the arrival of the Jazz Age, the era of grand manner full-length portraits was over and Lavery quickly adapted his practice to new, less formal conditions. By the mid-twenties the majority of his sitters actually sat - and greater concentration was given to facial features. Like the portrait of Rosemary Hope-Vere, 1929, the painting of Cynthia Zur Nedden was probably painted to celebrate her marriage and like this slightly earlier work, it adopts a delicate palette of pinks, golds and greens. In later years Mrs Zur Nedden was renowned as an animal lover and on her death in 1990 her home, Stapeley Grange in Cheshire, was bequeathed to the RSPCA, and is now used as a clinic.

K.M.