3630
Landscape study
Knoydart, Scotland, home of the Bowlby Family 1915
Mountainous landscape with boulders and a tree in the foreground to the left, a cloudy grey sky beyond
Oil on canvasboard, 33 x 40.5 cm (13 x 16 in.)
Inscribed lower right: Knoydart / 1915 Oct 7 P.A. de László
Private Collection
Knoydart, a remote peninsular in west Invernessshire, Scotland, was a large sporting estate owned by the Bowlby family between 1890 and 1930. They were close friends of the de Lászlós and the artist painted a number of portraits of them between 1914 and 1915: Arthur Bowlby in 1915 [2885], his wife in 1914 [2880] and daughter in 1923 [13703]. Their son David was painted during de László’s visit to Knoydart in 1915 when he made four landscape studies including the present picture [4307][3625][112672]. He visited again in 1916 and painted a study of two deer stalkers on the estate [11459].
The Knoydart estate changed hands in 1930, when it was purchased by the Brocket family. Lady Brocket was painted in 1936 [3616] and her sons David and Ronald Nall-Cain in 1937 [3621]. There is no evidence that the artist visited it again at that time. Lord Brocket sold Knoydart in 1938.
PROVENANCE:
In the possession of the artist on his death;
Henry de Laszlo, his eldest son
KF 2022