DLA123-0069 Transcription

22, S.T. JAMES’S PLACE,

S. W.

My dear Lazlo [sic]

I told my secretary six hundred guineas, why he wrote £346 I cant imagine & am very annoyed £346 is no price neither guineas nor pound. I can only excuse him because [he’s?] rushed

[Page 2]

& left [today?]. The picture [possibly 4764] would be too cheap at £700 [as?] I said [ystedy?].^[1] I fear he may have sent your cheque to some one else & am telephoning him.

I leave the choice of frame entirely to you.

Sincerely yours

Northcliffe

Editorial Note:

Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (1865-1922), British newspaper magnate; for biographical notes, see [4764].

24/09/2019

[1] De László painted a portrait of Lord Northcliffe in 1908 [4764]. Lucy de László recorded in her diary of 28 August 1908: “P arrived in the evening late – Told me v. interesting things about Northcliffe. Great genius – P. is v. pleased with the pic he did of him. He painted it in 4 days” (Lucy de László, 1908 diary, private collection, 28 August entry, p. 265). Three known copies were made of the portrait: one by de László’s most trusted copyist, Sidney Percy Kendrick (1874-1955) [4777]; a second by Robert John Swan (1888-1980) [4779]; and a third by Reginald Grenville Eves (1876-1941) [4763].