DLA019-0249  Transcription  

The Victoria Hospital for Children,

TITE STREET, CHELSEA, S.W.3.

17th November 1932

Dear Mrs Guinness,

I am writing to ask you to do us a great favour; it is only because you are such a kind friend to the Hospital that I venture to trouble you. In connection with the Midnight Matinee on behalf of the Hospital which the Prince of Wales has promised to attend on December the 8th, Mr. Seymour Hicks,^[1] who is giving most valuable help, has asked whether we could obtain from one of the most prominent painters in this country a promise to paint a portrait of sketch on a blank canvas to be auctioned by Mr. Hicks in the course of the evening.^[2] Sir William Orpen^[3] kindly did this for us on a previous occasion

The Committee organising the entertainment would delight to see this suggestion carried out, if only it were possible to enlist the sympathy of a portrait painter of great eminence. I have been pressed to approach Mr. de Laszlo, and as you are a relation of his, I am asking whether you could kindly see your way to ask him to confer this signal mark of his sympathy in our work. As you know,

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we are in great financial difficulties otherwise I should not like to put forward such a bold proposal. We should be very grateful indeed if Mr. de Laszlo were able to help us.

Believe me,

Very truly yours,

Arthur G Ferard

Chairman.

Mrs H.S.H. Guinness

Editorial Note:

Mrs Henry Samuel Howard Guinness, née Alfhild Holter (1890–1983); for biographical notes, see [3056].

SMDL

02/07/2018