6489

DESTROYED

Richard William Alan, 5th Earl of Onslow 1928

Half-length slightly to the right, looking full face to the viewer, wearing a dark coat with a red lapel over his military uniform, the neck badge of a Knight of Justice of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and the Commander’s Cross of the Légion d’Honneur round his neck, and, on his chest, from left to right, the Officer’s Badge of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (Military Division), and the 1914-1915 Star; holding a pair of white gloves in his left hand which rests on a ledge to the right, a sword at his left side

Oil on canvas, 97.2 x 72.4 cm (38 ¼ x 28 ½ in.)

Laib L15524 (507) / C21 (10)  

NPG Album 1927-29, p. 41

Sitters’ Book II, f. 60: Onslow July 21. 1928

It is not known whether the present portrait was painted at the suggestion of de László or at the request of Lord Onslow, but it was completed before the commission for the full-length portrait of Violet Onslow [6492], who had to postpone sittings on account of ill-health. The artist’s correspondence reveals that Lord Onslow paid £420 for his picture.^[1]

De László’s appointment book for 1928 would indicate that this portrait was completed without much delay. Lord Onslow’s inscription in the Sitters’ Book suggests that a first sitting took place on 21 July, and it is likely he would have sat to de László on 29th, when he and the artist had lunch together. There were also two sittings in the afternoons of 31 July and 1 August 1928. Despite Lord Onslow’s pale complexion, de László managed to endow him with strength by giving prominence to his direct gaze and firm stature.

In a letter dated 19 June 1929, Violet Onslow wrote to de László: “Everybody whose opinion is of any value thinks both our portraits wonderfully good, both as portraits and as artistic works. They will look so nice now we have had most of the house done up & can be hung in a good place.”^[2] Both portraits were exhibited at the French Gallery, Pall Mall, in May and June 1929.

Richard William Alan Onslow, Viscount Cranley, was born on 23 August 1876, the eldest son of William Hillier Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow (1853-1911) and his wife the Honourable Florence Coulston Gardner (died 1934). He was educated at Eton and after some excursions abroad, went on to New College, Oxford. Despite his initial determination to “work very hard”, his willpower dwindled after only ten days, and he admitted to being “as idle as the idlest afterwards.”^[3] He graduated with a Third in history, and returned to Clandon, the family home. In 1901, he entered the Diplomatic Service in the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office. The following year, he was appointed Attaché in Madrid, 3rd Secretary in Tangier in 1903, and in St. Petersburg in 1904.

He returned to England to marry the Honourable Violet Marcia Catherine Warwick Bampfylde, the only daughter of the 3rd Baron Poltimore and his wife the Honourable Margaret Harriet Beaumont, on 22 February 1906. There were two children of the marriage, Mary (born 1908), and William Arthur (born 1913). In 1907, he was appointed 2nd Secretary in Berlin to be closer to his wife, whose health was poor. This was his last foreign posting. Between 1909 and 1911 he was Assistant Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Between 1911 and 1913 he was Private Secretary to the Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. On 23 October 1911, He succeeded his father as 5th Earl of Onslow, and retired from the Foreign Office to take his seat in the House of Lords.

During the First World War Clandon, which had been modernized in 1913, was converted into a hospital for injured troops.^[4] In October 1915, a German zeppelin flew over the estate and dropped bombs nearby, the house was shaken to the foundations, but remained standing. Onslow himself helped organise the Red Cross operation to transfer and care for war casualties, and he worked in the War Office as an intelligence officer. In this role, he compiled all the instructions he received with regard to sending communiqués. These were so numerous that they eventually formed a book that was known as ‘Onslow’s Bible’ to other intelligence officers. At the end of the war, he was Colonel in charge of censorship and publicity in France. Onslow was mentioned in dispatches three times, and in recognition for his wartime work, he was awarded an O.B.E. and the Légion d’Honneur.

He then returned to his political career. He was a Lord-in-Waiting to George V in 1919 and 1920, and Privy Councillor and Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords, following in his father’s footsteps. He was Civil Lord of the Admiralty between 1920 and 1921, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture in 1921 and to the Ministry of Health from 1921 to 1923. Between 1924 and 1928 he was Under-Secretary of State for War.

Onslow was also Lord Lieutenant of Surrey and a local magistrate. He was instrumental in founding a Public Utility Society to build Onslow Village and provide affordable housing in Guildford after the War. He also donated six acres of Stag Hill near Guildford for a new cathedral, designed by Sir Edward Maufe, in order to accommodate the expansion of the city’s population.

The 5th Earl of Onslow was very interested in the history of his family, which he undertook to write up, eventually producing nine volumes, which became the foundation for C.E. Vulliamy’s The Onslow Family 1528-1874. He died on 9 June 1945 aged sixty-eight, and was succeeded to the title by his only son.

Original frame by F.C. Buck, fine art dealer, of 48 Baker Street, London

PROVENANCE:

Acquired by the National Trust, 1956;

Destroyed by fire at Clandon Park, 29th April 2015

EXHIBITED:

LITERATURE:

•Chessum, Sophie, and Rowell, Christopher, Clandon Park (National Trust Guide Book), The National Trust, 2002 p. 39, ill. p. 81

•László, Philip de, 1928 appointment book, private collection

•DLA079-0030, letter from Lord Onslow to de László, 22 March 1928

•DLA079-0041, letter from Lady Onslow to de László, 19 June 1929

•DLA079-0037, letter from Lord Onslow to de László, 16 July 1929

With our grateful thanks to Dr Gergely Sallay for his help in identifying the decorations worn by the sitter

CC 2012