2885

Arthur Salvin Bowlby 1915

Standing three-quarter length in a cloudy landscape, wearing a dark blue hunt coat, a red waistcoat and holding a hunting whip in both hands, brown gloves in his right

Oil on canvas, 138.4 x 97. 2 cm (54 ½ x 38 ¼ in.)

Inscribed lower left: P.A. de László / 1915 July 15

Laib L7842 (5) / C3 (20)

NPG Album 1913-15, p. 59

Private Collection

Athur Bowlby was an important patron and good friend to de László who painted eight portraits of the family between 1914 and 1923.^[1] The sitter’s wife was painted twice in 1914 [2880][2882] and a portrait drawing was made in 1915 [2505]. Their son David was painted in 1915 [13702] and daughter Ursula in 1923 [13703]. Lady Keyes, sister of Arthur Bowlby, was painted twice in 1923 [5978][5980].

A letter in the artist’s archive suggests that de László requested his sitter to pose in hunting dress: “By hunting clothes I hope you do not mean ‘pink’ coat, because neither the wife nor myself would care about that - I have an old grey riding suit which I am told ([by] Lockett Agnew) is quite suitable.”^[2] The hunt coat de László has depicted is dark blue, suggesting he may have altered the colour to suit his vision for the portrait.  

The portrait hung at Gilston Park, Essex and was seen there by de László’s patron, the art dealer William Lockett Agnew [2560] and his wife [2561]. The sitter’s wife wrote to the artist to tell him of their appreciation: “The Lockett Agnews have been lunching here today, they were both struck by the speaking likeness of his portrait, & as Mrs. Agnew said, the whole was so characteristic & yet so pleasing. I think you know how grateful I am to you for giving us your best, represented in A’s portrait. I am bad at expressing myself but you will understand.”^[3]

The family spent a great deal of time together at Knoydart, the Bowlby estate in Inverie, Scotland. During his visit there with Lucy in October 1915 de László painted a number of landscape studies of the area [4307][3625][112672][3630] and a study of deerstalkers in 1916 [11459].

The artist was also a guest at Gilston, their estate in Essex and in 1936 he recalled in his diary: “often we spent there week-ends – also during the war – till  the beginning of 17an we used to sit in front of the  House listening to the Bombardment in Flanders – many happy hours we spent their [sic] Bowlby used to play heartily the organ – she piano – Lucy the violin & I used to sung [sic] Hungarian song’s [sic].”^[4] 

Such was the closeness between Bowlby and de László that after the artist’s arrest and incarceration in Brixton Prison in September 1917 under the Defence of the Realm Act, Bowlby acted as a character witness at his hearing before the Advisory Review Committee in December. Also supporting the artist were Arthur Guest [5403] and Lucy’s brother Howard Guinness [5494].^[5] Their efforts were unsuccessful and he was returned to Islington Internment Camp. He was eventually exonerated by the Naturalisation Revocation Committee in July 1919 and able to return to his life and work.

Arthur Salvin Bowlby was born on 14 March 1872 in Ryde, Isle of Wight, the sixth and only surviving son of Edward Salvin Bowlby (1830-1902) and his first wife Maria Rimington (d. 1879), daughter of James Rimington of Broomhead Hall, near Sheffield. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He lived at Gilston Park in Harlow, Hertfordshire, at Knoydart, Invernesshire, and at 24 Devonshire Place in London.

On 24 October 1903 he married Catherine Mary Bond (1878-1943), the eldest daughter of Colonel Edward Bruton Bond (1832-1892) and his wife Frances Bowlby. There were four children of the marriage: Francis (born 1904), David (born 1907), Ursula (born 1909), Peter (born 1915). Bowlby served as High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1908. His interests were music, playing the organ and piano, country life, namely hunting, shooting, fishing and farming, and yachts.

He died on 12 August 1932 and was buried at St Botolph’s Church, Eastwick, near Harlow.

PROVENANCE:

By descent in the family

LITERATURE:

•DLA054-0026, letter from Catherine Bowlby to de László,  

•DLA054-0030, letter from Arthur Bowlby to de László, 4 June 1915  

•László, Lucy de, 1917 diary, private collection

•Hart-Davis, Duff, in collaboration with Caroline Corbeau-Parsons, De László: His Life and Art, Yale University Press, 2010, p. 125

KF 2022