Lavery was one of the Glasgow Boys. He based his composition of the painting on photographs of the crowd taken inside the main exhibition building.
It took him two years to complete, and it made his reputation.
Queen Victoria and her European relatives listen to an address by Exhibition President Sir Archibald Campbell. Sir James King, Lord Provost of Glasgow, stands in the centre.
There are 253 people in the painting. We can see each face, as none overlap. Queen Victoria is the only person seated.
The 1888 Exhibition was held to raise finds to build the new Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove, which opened in 1901.
The State Visit of Her Majesty Queen Victoria to the Glasgow International Exhibition, 1888
1890
John Lavery (1856–1941)
Oil on canvas
Size 2565mm x 4064mm
Commissioned for Glasgow Corporation, registered 1893
Number 710