# John Lavery artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/john-lavery/
Profile generated: 2026-05-05T03:25:52.136Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1856-03-20
- Death date: 1941-01-10
- Nationality: Irish
- Common media: oil painting

## About John Lavery

Sir John Lavery (1856–1941) was an Irish painter celebrated for his portraits and wartime depictions. Born in Belfast on 20 March 1856, he built a career that spanned late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century Britain and Ireland, earning a knighthood and election to the Royal Academy. Lavery's sitters ranged from society figures to political leaders, and he served as an official war artist during the First World War, producing some of the period's most recognised canvases. His work combines a refined figurative technique with a fluid handling of light and atmosphere, reflecting the broader European plein-air currents of his era. Today his paintings are held by major public collections including Tate and the National Gallery, London, and they appear regularly at international auction.

## Common works and media

Lavery is most often encountered in appraisal and auction contexts as an oil painter. Common work types include formal portraits, landscapes and garden scenes, interiors with figures, and wartime subjects. He also produced preparatory oil sketches and smaller cabinet paintings. Prints and reproductive engravings after his major compositions circulate, though the primary market centres on original oils on canvas or board.

## Market and appraisal context

The source pack records 15 auction lots (11 priced) spanning 2007–2025 across eight houses, with realised prices ranging from $10 for reproductive lithographs to £381,000 for the original oil "Ariadne" at Sotheby's (November 2023). The median priced lot is approximately $6,875. Lavery's market is anchored by top-tier houses—Christie's and Sotheby's account for the highest prices—while Irish and regional houses (Gormleys, Purcell, Heritage) provide steady mid-tier liquidity. Tangier subjects and figurative compositions are recurring strong performers. The price distribution is strongly bimodal: original oils at major houses realise five- and six-figure sums, while prints and works "after" Lavery trade at nominal levels ($10–$25). No priced lots appear in the most recent 12-month window (as of collection date May 2025), though three lots traded in the prior 12 months, suggesting normal cadence rather than a market interruption.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

The source pack records 15 auction lots (11 priced) spanning 2007–2025 across eight houses, with realised prices ranging from $10 for reproductive lithographs to £381,000 for the original oil "Ariadne" at Sotheby's (November 2023). The median priced lot is approximately $6,875. Lavery's market is anchored by top-tier houses—Christie's and Sotheby's account for the highest prices—while Irish and regional houses (Gormleys, Purcell, Heritage) provide steady mid-tier liquidity. Tangier subjects and figurative compositions are recurring strong performers. The price distribution is strongly bimodal: original oils at major houses realise five- and six-figure sums, while prints and works "after" Lavery trade at nominal levels ($10–$25). No priced lots appear in the most recent 12-month window (as of collection date May 2025), though three lots traded in the prior 12 months, suggesting normal cadence rather than a market interruption.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily uses these auction records as comparable-sale evidence alongside user-submitted photographs, measured dimensions, medium identification, signature verification, condition reports, and documented provenance. For Lavery, the single most important step is distinguishing original oil paintings from reproductive prints and works "after" the artist, since the price differential is extreme ($10–$25 for prints vs. up to £381,000 for original oils). Appraisers cross-reference against Kenneth McConkey's published catalogue raisonné, verify medium and support (canvas vs. board), confirm the authenticity of the signature, assess condition—particularly craquelure, relining, and inpainting history—and compare the work against lots of similar subject, scale, date, and auction-house tier. Edition details are relevant only for reproductive prints; Lavery's primary market centres on unique oil paintings.

### Valuation factors

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### Collector notes

- Original oil paintings by Lavery are traded regularly at major international auction houses (Christie's, Sotheby's) and at Irish and UK regional houses (Gormleys, Purcell). The market shows strong differentiation between original works and reproductive material—collectors should verify that a work is an original oil painting and not a print, lithograph, or copy before seeking appraisal. Tangier subjects and named-sitter portraits are the most reliably competitive categories. The absence of priced lots in the most recent 12-month window likely reflects the small sample size (15 lots) rather than a demand shift, given that Lavery has over 700 recorded auction results on Invaluable. For sellers, consigning a well-attributed original oil to Christie's or Sotheby's is likely to maximise exposure to the international collector base; smaller works and sketches may find competitive bidding at specialist Irish houses.

### Market caveats

- This sample contains 15 lots. Lavery has over 700 auction records on Invaluable, so the observed price distribution under-represents the full market breadth.
- Three of the 15 lots are works "after" Lavery (reproductive lithographs priced at $10–$25), not original paintings. These skew the low end and should not be used as comparables for original oils.
- No auction categories were tagged in the lot records. "Oil painting" is inferred from the existing profile mediums and lot titles.
- Prices are reported in their original currencies (USD, GBP, EUR) without conversion. Cross-currency comparison requires conversion at the relevant sale date.
- The top price (£381,000 for "Ariadne" at Sotheby's, 2023) is a significant outlier relative to the median ($6,875) and may not be representative of typical values.
- Recent liquidity appears low (zero priced lots in the most recent 12-month window), but this likely reflects sample limitations rather than actual market inactivity given the artist's extensive auction history.

### Market evidence sources

- Appraisily auction record index: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/john-lavery/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- Invaluable / Antique Arena Inc: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-wwi-era-lithograph-print-after-john-lavery-1-c-cb84b38985
- Invaluable / Antique Arena Inc: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-wwi-era-lithograph-print-after-john-lavery-29-c-75b4c2e84d
- Invaluable / Purcell Auctioneers: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-john-lavery-the-life-of-a-painter-l-1940-large-8vo-with-69-photogravure-589-c-b5c4ab5932
- Invaluable / Antique Arena Inc: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-wwi-arrival-of-german-delegates-after-john-lavery-15-c-bd1409f854
- Invaluable / Antique Arena Inc: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-wwi-arrival-of-german-delegates-after-john-lavery-14-c-9cb4b63b8d
- Invaluable / Market Auctions: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-john-lavery-print-on-canvas-boating-on-the-thames-242-c-bb741838a1
- Invaluable / Capsule Gallery Auction: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-john-lavery-the-beach-tangier-42-c-1f5446fa02

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research from museum, library-authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realised prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Sir John Lavery, identity data is grounded in the Library of Congress Name Authority File, Getty ULAN, VIAF, Tate, and the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n84013990
- RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/48404
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/sir-john-lavery-332
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q609328
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/12401964/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500000428
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lavery