DLA017-0025  Transcription

51, PRINCES SQUARE,

LONDON, W.2.

18th III. 1930

Dear M. de László,

I just learned from the Morning Post of your arrival.[1] May I take the opportunity to express my heartiest congratulations for your latest succes [sic] in London and in Madrid. I am very sorry that I have to leave today for Budapest, as I would have liked to

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call upon you and discuss the repatriating of the two Munkácsy[2] pictures, which are at a final stage. With your and Lord Rothermere’s[3] [supposed?] M. de Abosy[4] got a wonderful impetus. He will be soon in London again. He would like to ask you to increase the sum for your blank canvas as he got in America already a much higher bid for it.[5] You will very much oblige me, if you would be kind enough to tell me

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your opinion about that matter.

I am dear M. de Làszló | Yours very sincerely

Lajos Lederer

P.S. Please give my sincere compliments to Mrs. de Lászlo.

Editorial Note:

Lajos Lederer (1904–1985), Hungarian journalist

SMDL

08/01/2018

[1] De László arrived in London from Paris on 17th March 1930.

[2] Mihály Munkácsy (1844-1900), Hungarian artist

[3] Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere (1868-1940) [4759]

[4] Doctor Gyula Abósy, Hungarian art historian

[5] See DLA034-0101, letter from Elemér Kézdi-Kovács to de László, undated; and DLA034-0091, letter from de László to László Kézdi-Kovács, 5 July 1933, regarding the story of mystery and deception surrounding the recovery of the Munkácsy paintings. It seems that de László offered to paint a portrait of a volunteer who would pay £5000 for it, which de László would then donate to the cause of recovering the Munkácsy paintings from the United States. Elemér Kézdi-Kovács and Doctor Abósy were involved in the project. One day they received an offer from a mysterious Swedish gentleman, Mr. Wallin, who claimed to be a friend of Count András Bethlen (son of the former Prime Minister) and who said he had good connections in London and would be able to find somebody interested in sitting for the portrait. Elemér Kézdi-Kovács and Abósy were first suspicious of the stranger, but they trusted Count Bethlen and finally contacted Mr. Wallin to find a candidate in London. Mr. Wallin promptly travelled to London and a few days later confirmed that he had indeed found someone. However, the project somehow developed a subplot involving the buying and insuring of diamonds, and when de László next heard about it he did not understand how this had happened.