SIR JOHN LAVERY (1856-1941) – MRS. OSLER
A 1929 portrait by Sir John Lavery entitled Mrs. Osler comes up at Sotheby’s sale of 19th century European art in New York on May 18. In a catalogue note Professor Kenneth McConkey observes that the intimate interior and casual pose of the sitter epitomises the liberation that came with the Jazz Age.
Before the Great War it would have been inconceivable to show a woman other than a courtesan lounging on a sofa with the abandon of the sitter. The interior is interesting too. Despite the growth of modernist decor after 1925 classical rococo room decoration signified high style and remained very much in vogue.
This portrait was painted at the Osler’s villa in Cap d’Antibes. On the recommendation of his painting pupil Winston Churchill, Lavery had replaced Tangier with the Cote d’Azur as a regular winter respite. The estimate on the portrait, the property of a Canadian private collector, is $300,000-500,000.
UPDATE: This failed to sell.