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The Tennis Party

The Tennis Party

Artist (Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1856 - 1941)
Date1885
Mediumoil on canvas
ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings
DimensionsOverall: 76.2 × 183cm
Frame Size: 102 × 208.9 × 14cm
Weight: 43.5kg
AcquisitionPresented in 1926 by Sir James Murray.
CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0
LocationOn Display - Gallery 14
Object numberABDAG002350
About MeJohn Lavery's life - as friend and tutor to Winston Churchill and portrait painter to the Royal family - could not be more in contrast to his youth. An orphan, Lavery had an unhappy childhood and ran away from home at an early age.

In spite of its apparent spontaneity this picture is not merely an arbitrary slice of life. Male and female players are set against each other - possibly to suggest romantic pairings. A girl, on the threshold of adulthood, stands in waiting for the game of tennis, but also, perhaps, the game of love.




More About Me
A game of tennis - but also possibly a game of equality? Men and women play each other here, in 1885; is Lavery hinting at changes to come?
Exhibitions