12183

The Duchess of York, née Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon 1931

Standing half-length in three-quarter profile to the left looking towards the viewer, wearing a black hat decorated with ostrich plumes and a double pearl necklace, holding a brown velvet stole round her shoulders

Oil on canvas, 91.4 x 71.1 cm (35 ⅛ x 27 in.)

Sitters’ Book II, opp. f. 70: Elizabeth July 29th 1931

Studio Inventory, p. 5 (30): H.R.H. The Duchess of York. A study of H.R.H. the Duchess of York, now Queen Elizabeth.  Painted in the studio at Fitzjohn's Avenue.  Never exhibited.  Wearing a hat with ostrich plumes

Private Collection

De László first painted Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon in 1925, at the time of her engagement to the Duke of York. In 1931, their paths crossed again, when the Duchess of York asked de László to paint the portraits of her parents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary [11641] & [11642].

When she accompanied her mother to one of her sittings on 3 July 1931, de László was struck by the Duchess of York’s beauty and personality, as recorded in his diary: “She got more round in the body since last I painted her – one of the most attractive little woman I know natural intelligent – graceful in spite of her small figure (short) she looked beautiful in her blue bonnet and suggested to do a sketch of her in it – she was very keen & enthusiastic about it – I loved to see her again – happy Duke of York!!”^[1]. Not many women elicited such comments in the artist’s diaries. Despite her reported enthusiasm at the idea of a new portrait, sittings were not immediately arranged. However, de László was set on painting her: the following day, when the Countess of Strathmore suggested to him that he could perhaps paint the Duke of York in Scottish evening dress, he wrote, “I could do of him something & may induce The Duchess to come to me!!”^[2] 

He had to wait for the Royal garden party on 23 July for his wish to be granted. The first sitting for the present work took place on 28 July: “At 10 45 The Duchess of York gave me a sitting – she came in blue - & the usual flat hat – I induced her to put up the smart black hat of Lucy’s with the feather - & she looked charming in it – I explained her that she should wear a hat which shows more her face – hair on one side - & makes her taller looking – when she saw – the picture before leaving she liked it so much – that when she left she would not put on more her own little mushroom blue hat.”^[3] This highlights the great extent to which de László had specific artistic taste when it came to fashion and beauty. He and the Duchess of York talked about a variety of subjects, including world affairs, which allowed the artist to make the following observations about her character: “She is not without ambition – her inborn intelligence does not show it. Her charm is great & is very feminine – splendid wife mother - & daughter – she would make a great Queen! I enjoy every moment in her presence – naturel without giving herself any airs – she is born to her position!”^[4]

There were two more sittings for this portrait, on 29th and on 30th July. On that day, the Duke also sat to him, giving de László just enough time to complete a study-portrait of him [9123]. The artist recorded in his diaries that the Duke, Duchess, and he himself were pleased with the present portrait. However, when he and the Duchess met again on 5 August, de László decided to devote the sitting to a new work, and to return to the present one at a later stage: “she understood – that I want to do a sketch portrait [9126] & leave the other to be finished another time”.^[5] His intention was to produce a pendant in the same style as her husband’s likeness, which explains why he put aside this more complex portrait. The hands remained unfinished as the opportunity to complete the painting never presented itself. The study-portraits of the Duke and Duchess and their reproductions became so popular, that the Queen Mother eventually entirely forgot about the very existence of this portrait, which remained in de László’s studio until his death.

For biographical notes on the sitter, see [4460].

PROVENANCE:

In the possession of the artist on his death, 1937;

By descent in the family until 1987

EXHIBITED:

•Christopher Wood Gallery, Edwardian Elegance, An Exhibition of English Portraits and Figure Subjects, 1890-1930, 2 - 28 November 1987, ill. [no page numbers]

LITERATURE:

•Rutter, Owen, Portrait of a Painter, London, 1939, pp. 358 & 374

•Warwick, Christopher, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth, A portrait, London, 1985, ill. dust cover

•Sunday Times Colour Supplement, July 29, 1990, ill. facing p. 20

•De Laszlo, Sandra, ed., & Christopher Wentworth-Stanley, asst. ed., A Brush with Grandeur, Paul Holberton publishing, London, 2004, p. 163, fig. 79

•Hart-Davis, Duff, in collaboration with Caroline Corbeau-Parsons, De László: His Life and Art, Yale University Press, 2010, ill. 119

•Hart-Davis, Duff, László Fülöp élete és festészete [Philip de László's Life and Painting], Corvina, Budapest, 2019, ill. 155

•Field, Katherine ed., Gábor Bellák and Beáta Somfalvi, Philip de László (1869-1937); "I am an Artist of the World", Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, 2019, p. 78

•László, Philip (de), 1931 diary, private collection, 3 July entry, p. 188, 4 July entry, p. 189, 5 August entry, p. 221

CC 2008