4040

Caroline Lambart, Countess of Cavan, née Caroline Inez Crawley 1912

Half-length to the left, head turned to the viewer, wearing a white evening dress and a blue stole draped over her right shoulder

Oil on canvas, 75 x 62.3 cm (29 ½ x 24 ½ in.)

Inscribed lower left: de László 1912   

Private Collection

Considering the date of this portrait, and the fact that Lady Cavan wears the same dress and shawl as in her full-length formal portrait also painted in 1912 [4665], it is thought that the present work was a rejected version. Its composition and proportions are unusual. It is likely that de László started painting on a larger canvas, as he intended to make a three-quarter length portrait of Lady Cavan, and left the lower section unfinished, resulting in the present portrait being cut down. Many rejected versions were thus “rescued” by sitters or their families. If asked, de László  gladly gave away rejected portraits, and would occasionally sign them after they were cut down, as in the present instance.

De László also painted a formal three-quarter length portrait of Lord Cavan in the same year [4037].

For biographical notes on the sitter, see [4665].

PROVENANCE:

Sold at Mainichi Auction House, Japan, 8 September 2012, lot 902;

Sold at Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas, 8 December 2017, when acquired by the present owner

CC 2008