6246

John Hugo Loudon  1920

Seated three-quarter length, wearing white tennis clothes and holding a racquet under his right arm.  Set in the garden at the Loudon family home, Voorlinden: steps and a statue under a cloudy sky behind

Oil on canvas, 90.5 x 60 cm (32 ½ x 23 ½ in.)

Inscribed lower left: de László / Voorlinden. 1920. V

Sitters’ Book II, opp. f. 15: John Loudon 1 June 1920.

Private Collection

De László also painted the sitter's parents: his father Hugo in 1909 [6227], his mother Anna twice in 1908 [6233] & [6234] and again in 1920 [6237], in which year he also painted the sitter's uncle, Ambassador John Loudon [6241].

The cosmopolitan Loudon family lived at Voorlinden, in Wassenaar, near The Hague, where they were neighbours of the Van Tuylls. During his visit to the Loudon’s home in the spring of 1920, de László made an oil study of the garden [111213], from the same viewpoint as can be seen in this portrait. Throughout his career de László would paint landscape studies whenever he had the opportunity – often for his own pleasure. Later in life he also included landscapes and city scenes in his exhibitions. The painting of the Voorlinden garden is the only known landscape that de László made in the Netherlands and it is also quite unusual as it seems it was made in preparation for the setting of this portrait.

John Hugo, the second of three sons of Hugo and Anna Loudon, was born in The Hague on 27 June 1905. He graduated in law at Utrecht University and in 1930 began his career at Royal Dutch, of which his father was President of the board. He was sent to Venezuela for a year and shortly after his return, was married on 15 December 1931 to a lady-in-waiting of Queen Wilhelmina’s, Marie Cornelia Baroness van Tuyll van Serooskerken (born 1903), the daughter of Frederik Willem, a first cousin of Ernst van Tuyll [7531] and sister of Frederik who married the daughter of Ida Randebrock [6734]. Together they had three sons, John, George and Frederick. They established themselves in London, where John Loudon was soon part of an exclusive social set. He was also invited to join the Royal Yacht Squadron. From 1951 until 1965, he headed the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, which at the time was the second largest oil company in the world. He was instrumental in rebuilding the company’s operations after the Second World War, but also during the shutdown of the Suez Canal in 1956 and the war that ensued. He preserved the company’s influence in the Middle East, developing friendships with the sheiks and leaders in the region.

A tall and slender man of great allure, John Loudon spoke five languages, and evolved with the greatest ease in the highest international circles, be they political, cultural, or financial. He found it essential to employ executives in the Middle East and set up policies to prevent discrimination from their European counterparts. After stepping down in 1965, he remained active in the company for the next eleven years as Chairman of the board of supervisory directors. In parallel, his close friend David Rockfeller, President of Chase Manhattan Bank, named him Chairman of an Advisory committee to counsel the bank on its growing international business. He retired from the group in 1977. John Loudon was a great art collector, with a special interest in Old Master paintings and impressionist art. He donated some of his acquisitions to museums such as the Maurits Huis in The Hague, his home town. John Loudon was also concerned with the preservation of wildlife, serving as president of the World Wildlife Fund. He was also active on the board of the Ford Foundation and was involved with the Pierpont Morgan Library as a fellow and trustee until the end of his life. His first wife died in 1988. On 5 January 1996, aged ninety, he married Charlotte van Sminia (born 1923), but died in Haarlem a month later, on 4 February 1996. John Loudon received many decorations for his achievements in his lifetime. He was notably a Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion, a C.B.E., a Grand Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau, and Officier de la Légion d’honneur.

SOURCE: The New York Times, 9 February 1996

EXHIBITED:          
•Museum Van Loon, Amsterdam De László in Holland, Dutch Masterpieces by Philip Alexius de László (1869-1937), 3 March-5 June 2006, n° 39    

LITERATURE:          

•Grever, Tonko and Annemieke Heuft (Sandra de Laszlo, British ed.). De László in Holland: Dutch Masterpieces by Philip Alexius de László (1869-1937), Paul Holberton publishing, London, 2006, pp. 8, 10, 68, 70, 72, ill. n° 39

CWS 2008