Southwark Cathedral London 1920 (Terence MacSwiney)
Artist
Sir John Lavery
(1856 - 1941)
Date1920
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsFramed: 126.5 × 152 × 6.6 cm
99 × 134.6 cm
99 × 134.6 cm
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery.
Lady Lavery Memorial Bequest through Sir John Lavery, 1935.
Object number752
DescriptionWhile Hazel Lavery was campaigning against British military action in Ireland, John continued to document events as they unfolded in the Anglo-Irish war of 1919-21. This painting depicts the requiem Mass of Terence MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork, which took place in October 1920. MacSwiney had been arrested and died after seventy-four days on hunger-strike in Brixton Prison in protest against the lack of recognition of his status as a prisoner of war. Thousands attended the funeral, which focussed international attention on the Irish struggle for independence. Lavery's support of Terence MacSwiney was in keeping with liberal thinking in Britain.(Catalogue Entry [15]: Hazel, Lady Lavery Society and Politics, Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, 18 September - 3 November 1996, p. 220)
The Church depicted is St. George's RC Cathedral, Southwark, London. (JO'D)
On View
Not on view
