Summary

Oil on canvas, Sir John Lavery, RA, RSA, RHA (1856-1941), "The Ball Room at Londonderry House, 1918, signed and dated: THE BALLROOM / LONDONDERRY HOUSE 1918./ J Lavery The painting shows the ball room at Londonderry House when converted to a hospital for wounded officers during the First World War. It evokes the family’s commitment to the war effort, and their own active involvement. Charles Vane Tempest Stewart, who became 7th marquess of Londonderry in 1916, served in the Blues and Royals, fighting at the Somme, while his wife Edith established the Women’s Legion and was the first woman to be awarded a DBE Military Division. During the war they opened Londonderry House not only as a hospital but as the “Ark”- a place of refuge and escape for those involved in the war effort. Their experiences during the 1st World War impacted their desire to avoid a second world war in the 1930s.

Full description

A thoughtful and surprisingly powerful painting, the sombre tone is pervasive but there are hints of warmth and light and it is typical of Lavery’s work. One can imagine the artist working rapidly, responding to the immediacy of time and place. The brushwork is loose with deft, confident strokes. Light is confidently handled. Figures emerge rather than being clearly defined. Scale, perspective, and architectural features are captured economically and evocatively.The view is of the Ball Room at Londonderry House, London home of Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry and his wife Edith. At the far end of the Ball Room, light from the Throne Room’s window creates a shaft of light, enlivening the overall gloominess of the Ball Room itself. The Ball Room is top-lit by three great skylight domes; the glass seems to have been white-washed and black-out curtains fitted. Off the canvas to the right is the entrance to the Conservatory and further down the Ball Room on the right would be the entrance to the great staircase landing. In between is one of the two fireplaces: the firelight casts a warm glow onto a nurse standing beside it and onto three seated figures. Half a dozen nurses attend to the khaki-clad patients. Full-length portraits of the allied sovereigns and heroes of the Napoleonic Wars hang on the walls. There is only one sculpture clearly shown - the Canova of a Dancing Girl with her Hands on her Hips, but Canova’s Venus leaving her Bath and Dancing Girl with Hand to her Chin are indicated further down the room by the merest of brushstrokes. Underneath the massive portraits, hospital beds with white bed covers are arranged along the walls, each with a side table and shaded reading lamp. Armchairs have been provided with white case covers. The floor appears to be covered in a uniform material with a dull sheen, possibly linoleum, obscuring the inlaid timber floor. The Dancing Girl hovers like a spirit over the white-sheeted beds, her whiteness picked up by the uniform aprons of the nurses, especially that of the nurse on the right where the firelight gives a warmth to the starched apron. This is an evocative painting by a pre-eminent British/ Irish artist, who was one of the Official War Artists of the First World War. Bad health meant that John Lavery could not paint on the front line, but instead recorded the impact the war had on the home front. He and his wife were personal friends of the Londonderrys and visited Mount Stewart frequently through the 1920s, not far from Lavery’s childhood home. Lavery painted several works there, including a view of the Drawing Room which was later sold to a private buyer in the USA. Lavery used to paint in the gardens, sitting under an umbrella, wearing white flannel trousers. Lady Mairi Bury, the youngest daughter of Edith and Charles, and a small child in the 1920s, called him “Little John with the white trousers” to distinguish him from Sir John Tweed and Sir John Ross. John and Hazel supported the movement for Irish Home Rule, while the Londonderrys were deeply opposed to it; it is a tribute to their respective broad-mindedness that they remained friends despite deep political differences. Lavery painted a portrait of the 7th Marquess wearing his garter star which now hangs at Mount Stewart, as does a small portrait of Hazel by John. The painting strongly evokes the impact of the war on the big aristocratic town houses and their owners. As soon as Charles Londonderry inherited the title of 7th Marquess early in 1915, Londonderry House was turned into a hospital for wounded officers. The family’s house at Seaham, Co Durham, also became a convalescent home. In her autobiography (Retrospect, 1938), Edith recalls: “as my time was fully occupied organizing the Women’s Legion, I took no part in the nursing side…My duty consisted of smoothing down any disputes or rows, which were few and far between…Some [officers] had shell shock, and, poor things they could be very odd and moody. One pushed his tray of food bodily on to the floor whenever he could, breaking everything on it…some who were convalescent… decorated the statues in the hall and gallery…The effect of Apollo confronting you in a Glengarry bonnet, or a Venus in lipstick and paint, was decidedly disconcerting, especially on the morning of one of the hospital visitors’ days!”. Edith goes on to give a vivid account of a Zeppelin raid in September 1915. The outbreak of war was the catalyst for Edith’s mobilisation of women to gain suffrage and to fulfil roles normally undertaken by men. She became Colonel-in-Chief of the Women’s Volunteer Reserve but left to set up the less military Women’s Legion in 1915, for which she was awarded the DBE Military Division. From the outbreak of war Charles served as ADC to General Sir William Pulteney but became frustrated at his seemingly privileged and protected position. He eventually managed to return to his regiment, the Blues, and served with them in the trenches, including in the Somme. As a cavalry regiment their role was increasingly out of step with warfare, so they spent time digging trenches and burying the dead, the impact of which affected Charles deeply. In April 1917 he took part in the cavalry attack on Monchy, a disastrous event which left 500 horses dead in the snow and mud. He returned to England in May 1917 to be more involved in political matters including the question of Home Rule for Ireland. From spring 1915, Londonderry House was identified by Charles and Edith Londonderry as an “Ark”, a safe refuge during the war for people connected with the war effort. They met every Wednesday under the enchanting eye of Edith as Circe the Sorceress. All the members were required to take other names of animals or mythical beings. An Ark membership badge is at Mount Stewart, and some of the members are represented in sculpture in the gardens. The Ark underlined the importance of escapism and fun during difficult times, when so many of those involved were facing the horrors of war. The Ark provided the perfect anti-dote through informality and frivolity. Hazel “the Hen” and John “Dory” Lavery were members; politicians mixed with artists and writers, including Sean O’Casey, Winston Churchill, Edward Carson, William Orpen and Arthur Balfour. It also created an informal but powerful network: it was at one of the Ark gatherings on 31st May 1916 that many of them heard about the Battle of Jutland from Arthur Balfour (Arthur the Albatross), 1st Lord of the Admiralty, days before the news reached the general public. The Ball Room at Londonderry House was the centrepiece of the Londonderry’s lavish hospitality. As Montgomery Hyde wrote in 1937: “This magnificent long gallery is used for receptions, balls, concerts, banquets, and other entertainments. It is here that the guests circulate during the customary reception given by the leaders of the Conservative Party and latterly of the National Government on the eve of the opening of Parliament before proceeding downstairs for supper in the Banqueting Hall.” The Londonderry’s lavish entertainment included Mount Stewart where they frequently hosted guests in a less formal setting. Exhibited London, Royal Academy Annual Exhibition, 1919, No63. Frances Bailey, 2023