An Irish Pilot (Lady Heath)
Artist
Sir John Lavery
(1856 - 1941)
Date1928
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions76.2 x 63.6 cm
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery.
Lady Lavery Memorial Bequest through Sir John Lavery, 1935.
Object number754
DescriptionThis striking portrait depicts Lady Mary Heath, whose history and background are highly intriguing. Born Sophie Peirce Evans at Knockaderry, Co. Limerick, this woman achieved all this despite a tragic start in life - when she was a toddler, her father murdered her mother and was put away for life following a sensational trial. In 1928, the same year this portrait was painted, Lady Heath was the first person (male or female) to fly a small open- cockpit plane solo from Cape Town to London. She was a renowned aviator and made many other impressive achievements during her lifetime. She spent two years as a dispatch rider during the First World War, pioneered women's athletics in Britain and helped introduce women's track and field to the Olympics. Along the way, she was to travel widely and marry three times, eventually returning with her third husband, a Trinidadian, to establish her own air company in north Dublin. Lavery's portrait is highly evocative of her colourful personality, and he contrasts the muted colours of her clothing with her vivid red lipstick and bright blue eyes. Lavery also painted Sophie dressed in the uniform of the transport unit in 1918 when she was in France. Commissioned to produce a series of paintings for the "Women's Work" collection at the newly established Imperial War Museum, Lavery had travelled to France, recording the work of women in the war effort.
Literature: Lindie Naughton, Lady Icarus, The Life of Irish Aviator Lady Mary Heath, Ashfield Press, Dublin, 2004
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