Philip Alexius de László, PRBA, RP, NPS (British, 1869-1937)


Portrait of Caroline Lambart, née Crawley, Countess of Cavan signed and dated 'László de Lombos/1912/July 20' (upper left)oil on canvas142.2 x 102.8cm (56 x 40 1/2in).
|This work is included in the Philip de László catalogue raisonné no. 4665, currently presented in progress online: www.delaszlocatalogueraisonne.com. We are grateful to Katherine Field for her assistance in cataloguing this lot.ProvenanceThe sitter.Thence by descent.Caroline Inez Crawley was the eldest daughter of George Baden Crawley and Eliza Inez Hulbert. In 1893 she married Lieutenant Colonel Frederic Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan. He served in South Africa 1899-1902 and distinguished himself during the First World War. He was appointed CB in 1915, KCB in 1917 and GCMG in 1919. During the Boer War the Countess joined her husband and rode out to see some of the battlefields. Throughout his early career she was very supportive, especially after the First World War, when he considered resigning from the army as new appointments were slow to appear. De László painted a portrait of Lord Cavan the same year as the present lot, which played a part in de László being awarded the Grand Cross of the Crown of Italy. Lady Cavan died childless in 1920 at the age of 50 and two years later, Lord Cavan re-married Lady Joan Mulholland, DBE, widow of Captain the Hon. A. E. S. Mulholland of the Irish Guards. There is an oil sketch of the present lot which is thought to have been rejected at the time, dated to the same year and inscribed 'study' (sold Heritage Auctions, Dallas, 8 December 2017). Lady Cavan, unlike this final version, is painted with her full face to the viewer. The present lot instead, enhances the sitter's fine bone structure, and gives emphasis to her aristocratic elegance. She is standing three-quarter length in semi-profile to the left, wearing an evening dress with a stole, a long pearl necklace and drop earrings, leaning on a high-backed chair, a curtain behind.In February 1912 the artist was ennobled by Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, and this painting is one of the only five known portraits which he signed with his new name, László de Lombos, before deciding to adopt the form de László.