Lavery, one of the Glasgow Boys, took two years to complete this important commission, and it made his reputation. He placed each of the 253 people carefully, without overlapping, so that we can see them all clearly. He based his composition on photographs of the crowd taken inside the main exhibition building. Queen Victoria, the only person seated, 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. The 1888 Exhibition was held to raise funds to build the new Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove, which opened in 1901.