11196

Drawing

The Wedding of Lord Titchfield and The Honourable Ivy Gordon Lennox in the chapel at Welbeck Abbey 1915

The bride and groom at the altar to the right and part of the congregation, seated in their pews, visible to the left

Pencil and chalk on paper, 23.5 x 40.4 cm (9 ¼ x 15 ⅞ in.)

Inscribed lower left: P. A. de László / 1915 Aug. 12.   

Sitters’ Book I, f. 104: Ivy Gordon-Lennox July 29d. [among other signatures dated 1915]

Private Collection

Lord Titchfield [6821], the son of de László’s great friend and patron the 6th Duke of Portland and the Hon. Ivy Gordon Lennox [6823] were married on 12 August 1915. As one of the guests and very close to the family, de László probably felt the urge to capture this intimate moment of the ceremony with his pencil as no-one else could, and made the present drawing. On the occasion of the young couple’s wedding, he also presented them with a portrait of the bride [6825].

Other guests included Queen Alexandra [7707] and her daughter Princess Victoria [10303]. Lady Maud Warrender sang during the service [7685]. The artist noted that he did the present sketch: “under the pew – during the ceremony,” and that Count Albert Mensdorff and the Marquis de Soveral “can be seen on it.”^[1]

LITERATURE:

•Clifford, Derek, The Paintings of P. A. de Laszlo, London, 1969, monochrome ill. pl. 32

•László, Philip de, 1934 diary, private collection, 7 August entries, p. 127

CC  2008