The Hugh Lane Gallery and the National Museum of Ireland are collaborating on an exhibition to mark the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (6 December 2021). This collaboration enables the institutions’ respective collections to be brought together to tell the story of the Treaty negotiations. The Hugh Lane Gallery possesses John Lavery’s portraits of the Irish and British signatories and is exhibited with the museum’s historical collections. The Treaty signatories from both sides sat for Lavery during and after 
the negotiations and his London studio was an informal meeting place, in which Hazel Lavery played an important role. Lavery cast himself in the role of artistdiplomat and saw the studio as “neutral ground”. Lavery donated the paintings to the city of Dublin, following a similar gift to the people of Belfast.