3975

Edward Henry Carson, 1st Baron Carson of Duncairn 1933

Seated three-quarter length in three-quarter profile to the right in a round backed armchair, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and bow-tie, his legs crossed, his left arm resting on a book on a table, his spectacles in his right hand which rests on his lap, bookshelves behind, a green curtain to the right

Oil on canvas, 128.3 x 96.5 cm (50 ½ x 38 in.)

Inscribed lower left: de László / 1933   

Laib L17805 (510) / C5 (23)  

NPG Album 1933, p. 32

Sitters' Book II, f. 76: Carson of Duncairn Oct 20. 1933             

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, London

According to correspondence held by the Middle Temple, de László and his wife visited Middle Temple Hall in 1933 when the artist declared that he “would like very much to have the opportunity of painting a portrait of Lord Carson to be placed in the Middle Temple.”^[1] The Minutes of the Middle Temple Parliament record that the Benchers unanimously resolved on 25 July 1933 that Master Treasurer should consult with Lord Carson (himself a Bencher of the Inn) for the purpose of having his portrait painted as “a matter of urgency.” Master Treasurer enquired what de László’s fee would be for a painting of 40 x 30 inches, to which the artist replied: “it would give him great pleasure to paint a portrait of Lord Carson, who is certainly one of the most interesting and picturesque men of our times,” and added that he would do it “for the exceptional honorarium of four hundred guineas.”^[2] 

It seems that the portrait was completed at the end of October 1933. A letter written by de László on 7 November 1933 suggests that the artist originally wanted to execute the present portrait in his studio, as was his habit, but had to paint it at Clive Court, near Ramsgate, in Kent, probably because of his sitter’s busy schedule: “I am glad now that I painted the portrait in his own home, as I am afraid here in London I would have had difficulty in painting in continuation, which I always like to do”.^[3] De László was particularly happy with this work, which he mentioned to numerous friends in his correspondence. When, on 3 December 1933, he visited the Middle Temple himself, he thought it “a fascinating place – with its tradition my portrait of Lord Carson looks well.”^[4]

In February 1935 the artist was invited to the Middle Temple to inspect the lighting for his portrait of Carson. He thought the light “very hard” and advised Sir Holman Gregory to “have day light, spot light by the Wendl firm.”^[5] While lunching in the Visitor’s Hall afterward the artist noted “a good portrait of King Edward by Hall,” at the head of the table and an empty space opposite. Lynder Macassey suggested that the artist could paint a portrait of the Prince of Wales on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of King George V. The artist was thrilled with the commission noting in his diary how much he would love it to have the opportunity of painting the Prince, “after all the abominations which were done with the help of photographs.”^[6] Though the possibility is mentioned again later in the artist’s diary the commission never came to fruition.  

Edward Henry Carson was born in Dublin on 9 February 1854, the second son of Edward Henry Carson – an architect and civil engineer – and his wife Isabella Lambert of Castle Ellen, Athenry. He was educated at Arlington House in Portarlington (Queen’s County) and Trinity College, Dublin, where he was active in the debating society. He took a pass degree and subsequently studied at the King’s Inn in Dublin from 1876 until 1877, when he was called to the Irish bar. It was not long before he established a solid reputation for himself as a junior counsel. In 1886, aged thirty-two, he was nominated crown counsel to John Gibson – who had recently been appointed Irish attorney-general – and made a strong impression to Arthur James Balfour [2707], then Chief Secretary for Ireland. After his success in the Plan for Campaign^[7], he was made Queen's Counsellor for Ireland in 1889, a Bencher in 1891 and became Solicitor-General for Ireland from 1892 until 1893. He became a barrister-at-law in the Middle Temple in 1893, and Queen’s Counsellor in 1894. It was in this role that, acting for the Marquess of Queensberry, he famously condemned Oscar Wilde by his cross-examination at his libel trial. In 1896, he was sworn of the Privy Council in Ireland, and in 1900, he was created a Knight Bachelor and appointed Solicitor-General for England. He would remain so until 1905, when he was sworn of the Privy Council in England. In 1910, he won the Archer-Shee case, one of the most notorious of the Edwardian era, and proved the innocence of the fifteen-year-old George, following his expulsion from the Royal Naval College at Osborne on the allegation that he had stolen a postal order. This case inspired Terence Rattigan to write his play, The Winslow Boy.

The same year, in 1910, Carson became leader of the Irish Unionists MPs at Westminster, and from then on, would indefatigably fight to preserve the Union and to defeat home rule.^[8] However, in summer 1914, the passing of the Home Rule Bill seemed only to be a formality when war broke out. In May 1915, the sitter became Attorney General in Asquith’s government, but resigned in October because he felt the government was inadequate. Subsequently at the head of the Unionist War Committee, he was instrumental in Lloyd George’s replacement of Asquith. He became First Lord of the Admiralty in 1916, but failed to govern effectively, and in 1917, he entered the War Cabinet as minister without portfolio. He resigned in 1918 unhappy with the way in which Lloyd George handled the Irish question. In 1920, he admitted his failure by saying that “he would not vote for home rule. At the same time [he would] do nothing to prevent this Bill from becoming law.”^[9] A year later, in February, he resigned the Ulster Unionist leadership. In May, he was appointed Lord of Appeal, and was created a peer for life. From 1921 until 1929, as a law lord, he defended the interests of southern unionists.

In 1879 he married Sarah Annette Forster, the adoptive daughter of Henry Persse Kirwan of Triston Lodge. There were two sons and a daughter of the marriage, but his wife died young, in 1913. In 1914, he remarried. Ruby, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Frewen, became his wife, by whom he had one son, Edward Carson. She was his junior by some thirty years. Lord Carson died at home at Cleve Court, Isle of Thanet, on 22 October 1935.

LITERATURE:         

•Middle Temple correspondence, Middle Temple Archive ref. MT.11/CPP

•Rutter, Owen, Portrait of a Painter, London, 1939, p. 373

•László, Philip de, 1933 diary, private collection, pasted press cutting, The London Star, 4 December 1933; p. 1, pasted press cutting, Northern Constitution Coleraine, 9 December 1933, about the hanging of the portrait of Lord Carson in the “Parliament Chamber” of the Middle Temple; p. 2, Northern Whig, 1 December 1933; 13 November entry, p. 14; 24 November entry, p. 23; 3 December entry, p. 31

•László, Lucy de, 1933 diary, private collection, 24 October entry, p. 298

•DLA135-0017, letter from de László to Marczel László, 5 November 1933

•DLA020-0239, letter from de László to Mrs Elaine Hunter, 5 November 1933

•László, Philip de, 1934 diary, private collection, 16 April entry, p. 3

•László, Philip de, January-June 1935 diary, private collection, 19 January entry, p. 5; 3 February entry, p. 19-20

•László, Philip de, June-November 1935 diary, private collection, 21 October 1935 entry, p. 136; 22 October 1935 entry, p. 137, pasted press cutting from the Daily Telegraph, 23 October 1935, about the death of Lord Carson, with a reproduction of de László’s portrait of him

•DLA036-0026, letter from de László to Dr László Siklóssy, 11 November 1935

CC 2008