The Dutch Cocoa House at the Glasgow International Exhibition of 1888

Lavery recorded the light interior and lofty proportions of the Dutch House with some visitors to the Glasgow International exhibition enjoying a hot drink. The house, erected by the prominent cocoa manufacturers Van Hoeten and Son, of Weesp near Amsterdam, was close to the exhibition's grand entrance. The exhibition, which celebrated Glasgow's industrial, commercial and cultural status, was intended to fund the new art gallery and museum in Kelvingrove park and a new school of art. Lavery became the exhibition's informal artist-in-residence, producing over fifty oil paintings of different themes which culminated in a civic commission to record Queen Victoria's visit