Portrait
of a Lady
(the Hon. Ivy Gordon-Lennox (1887-1982))
Philip
Alexius de Laszlo
-- British painter (1869-1937)
1915
Private
collection
Oil
on canvas
65.7
x 53.3 cm (25¾ x 21 in)
Jpg:
Friend of the JSS Gallery
(Editor's Note
- Radu Bogdan, in a letter further below dated 8/23/2002 -- which I
think is
missdated by me, thought the identity of the sitter was HSH princess
Elisabeth Comanesco de Brancovan. Christopher, in a letter after
Radu's, refers to the former)
From: Christopher
Wentworth-Stanley
cat al ogue@delaszlo.com
Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2005
Dear Mr Bogdan,
(. . .)
The lady [above] is, in fact, the Hon. Ivy Gordon-Lennox (1887-1982)
and the portrait is one of three known to
have been painted in 1915 on the occasion of her marriage to the
Marquess of Titchfield, the son and heir of de László's
great patron in
England, the 6th Duke of Portland. Another of these portraits can
already be seen on the JSSGallery website and I have attached a third,
showing the sitter in her wedding veil (please, not for publication).
(Editor's Note -
a black and white image remarkably similar in likeness wearing a
wedding dress was attached [closed
records])
(. . .) It is with
great
reluctance that I must contradict your convincing and
authoritative identification of the 'Portrait of a Lady' by Philip de
László illustrated on the JSSGallery website as Princess
Elisabeth
Comanesco de Brancovan (. . .)
If your hear of any other portraits by Philip de László,
identified or
not, which may not have been included already in the Catalogue
Raisonné
or if Sandra de Laszlo or I can be of any assistance in helping to
identify portraits in the future, please do contact us. With best
wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Christopher Wentworth-Stanley
European Editor, The Catalogue Raisonné of Works by Philip de
László
From:
Radu Bogdan
radu_
zone@yahoo.fr
8/23/2002 ? (prior to Christopher's letter)
Dear Madam,
As a Roumanian
genealogist I
can state that the person in this painting [Portrait of a Lady] is HSH princess
Elisabeth Comanesco de Brancovan (1897-1983), née countess de
Linche de Moissac-Merisesco in a Franco-Roumanian family. Through her
marriage to HSH prince Constantine IX Comanesco de Brancovan, she
became a cousin of Countess
Anna de Noailles (born princess Bassaraba
de Brancovan) and a relative of Lady
Margot Asquith (both latter
portrayed by de Laszlo), as well as of princess Marthe Bibesco (the
writer, 1886-1973).
The Comanesco de
Brancovan
family's historical archives mention that HSH princess Elisabeth was
portrayed by Philip de Laszlo, most probably in the 1920s. Even though
a part of the archives (illegally) became the property of the Roumanian
Academy in Bucharest after the Communists' arrival in 1945, the present
princely family Comanesco de Brancovan kept the souvenir of the
existence of such a portray (that was never brought in Roumania).
Misfortunately, I cannot produce a photo of princess Elisabeth for the
simple reason that the few left are to be found now in the Roumanian
Academy archives, and I'm not allowed to take anything from there, but
I saw photos of princess Elisabeth and the similarity with the person
in the painting is absolutely striking, up to being the same personage.
If you need any
information
regarding the life of princess Elisabeth Comanesco de Brancovan,
née countess de Linche de Moissac (-Merisesco) you can write me
an email anytime at this address.
Hoping to hear
from you,
Kindest regards,
Radu Bogdan
Cluj-Napoca,
Roumania
Notes
Special thanks to Radu Bogdan, a friend of the
JSS Gallery, and Christopher Wentworth-Stanley for their individual
input.
From:
Christies
8/23/2002
Sale
Title
TWENTIETH CENTURY BRITISH ART
Location
London,
South Kensington Sale Date Sep 05, 2002, Lot Number
508 Sale Number 9448
Lot
Title Portrait
of a Lady
Estimate
5,000
- 7,000 British pounds (did not sell)
This
painting
is to be included in the Hon.
Sandra
de
Laszlo's forthcoming monograph on the Artist.
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