3412

Edward and Alexander Ward 1927

Both half-length, Edward on the left wearing a hunting jacket, waistcoat and stock, holding a pair of gloves in his right hand and Alexander beside him, wearing an open necked shirt and jacket with his right arm round his elder brother’s shoulder

Oil on canvas, 90.2 x 69.9 cm (35 ½ x 27 ½ in.)

Inscribed lower right: de László / 1927. I

NPG Album 1925-27, p. 33

Sitters’ Book II, f. 51: The Two Sons Together of the Hon. Sir John H. Ward [in the artist’s hand between entries for January and February 1927]

Private Collection

De László painted the sitters’ father Sir John Ward [1697] in 1916, their mother, Lady Ward [3408] in 1922, and their grandmother, Mrs. Whitelaw Reid [6799], in 1923.

Edward ‘Jackie’ John Sutton Ward, was born in 1909, eldest son of Sir John Hubert Ward and his wife Jean Templeton Reid. He was a godson of Edward VII and educated at Eton College. In 1934 he married Margaret Susan Corbett (1915-1981), eldest daughter of Geoffrey Robert Jocelyn Corbett of Enniskillen, Ulster. There were two children of the marriage: Elizabeth Marion (born 1935) and Gerald John (born 1938). The sitter served as Lieutenant Colonel of the Inns of Court Regiment 1947-50 and as Lieutenant Colonel of the Life Guards 1950-56. During the early years of the reign of Elizabeth II, he was Silver Stick-in-Waiting at court. In the 1960s he was a Berkshire County Councillor, and a director of the Chilton Group of Companies from 1956-1965. His interests were fishing, shooting and sailing and he was Master of the Craven Hounds 1948-52. He died in 1990.

Alexander ‘Reggie’ Reginald Ward was born in 1915. He was a godson of Queen Alexandra, and followed his brother to Eton College. In 1946, he married Ilona Hollos, daughter of Major B. Hollos of Budapest. The marriage was dissolved in 1959. His second marriage was to the English actress Zena Marshall, and his third, to Constance Cluett of New York.  Prior to the Second World War, Alexander and his business partner founded Chilton Aircraft Ltd. and designed and built a small recreational aircraft, known as the Chilton. The project was abandoned for the duration of the war and their small factory was converted to electronics manufacture for use in the war effort. The company became Chilton Electronic Products, Ltd. and Alexander invented a safety electrical socket for shavers and the circuit breaker for fuse boxes. His aircraft design for the Chilton was so successful that his widow had over 2 dozen requests for the purchase of the plans after his death. As of 2000 several of the planes are still in use. He also enjoyed sailing, fishing, shooting and reading.

The sitter died in 1987.

EXHIBITED:

•The French Gallery, June 1927, A Series of Portraits and Studies by Philip A. de László, M.V.O., no. 26

LITERATURE:

•DLA107-0053, Letter from de László to Lady Ward requesting permission to show the portrait at the French Gallery, 30 May 1927

MD 2017