4640

Rejected work

The Honourable John William Davis, American Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s 1923

Half-length, wearing a white shirt and dark business suit, with his left hand raised to his waistcoat pocket, all against a dark background

Oil on canvas, 76.2 x 58.5 cm (30 x 23 in.)

Sitters’ Book II, f. 37: John W. Davis  Aug. 3. 1923.

Studio Inventory, p. 99 (542): Mr. Davis, American Ambassador to Great Britain.  Re-stretched 1938

Private Collection

This portrait is thought to be a rejected picture, being only slightly smaller than the finished portrait [4638] and on account of the highly finished way the face is painted, which is not typical of the artist’s preparatory studies. The sitter’s left hand has not been finished, which also suggests the artist has put the canvas aside to start again. It remained in de László’s studio until his death and it is likely he kept it as a souvenir of his relationship with John Davis. He first painted the sitter in 1920 [4636], in a pose virtually identical to the present picture, and that portrait is in the collection of the American Embassy in London.  

De László substantially changed the pose of the sitter in the finished picture [4638] so that he is turned to the right rather than full face to the viewer.

For biographical notes on the sitter, see [4636].

PROVENANCE:

In the possession of the artist on his death;

Henry de Laszlo, his eldest son

MD 2018