László, Portrait of Franz Joseph I
in hussar field marshal's uniform, 1899
Hungarian National Museum
Philip de Laszlo: His Life and Art is a 2010 biography by Duff Hart-Davis, based on the artist’s papers, letters, press cuttings and diaries. Hart-Davis was qualified to do the writing; he was related to King George III and to two of my favourite historians Duff Cooper and son John Julius Norwich. The author’s connections to royal, aristocratic and literary circles were clear, even in art history. The 145 plates in his book were fine examples of de Laszlo’s portraits.
Fulop Laub (1869-1937) was born in Budapest to a Jewish tailor. Due to hard work and talent, he joined Hungary’s National Academy of Arts, then studied in Munich and Paris. Once he'd converted to Catholicism in 1894 and Hungarianised his name to Philip de Laszlo, royal commissions arrived eg Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, Pope Leo XIII, Kaiser Wilhelm II, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. And Presidents Theodore Roosevelt & Calvin Coolidge. His career matched the final peak of Europe’s last great royal courts!
He was widely respected, and elected president of Royal Society of British Artists in 1930. So see the portraits, catalogue and exhibitions in the de Laszlo Archive. And perhaps read Giles MacDonogh, To Frame a Painter | History Today, Feb 2021.
Fulop Laub (1869-1937) was born in Budapest to a Jewish tailor. Due to hard work and talent, he joined Hungary’s National Academy of Arts, then studied in Munich and Paris. Once he'd converted to Catholicism in 1894 and Hungarianised his name to Philip de Laszlo, royal commissions arrived eg Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, Pope Leo XIII, Kaiser Wilhelm II, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. And Presidents Theodore Roosevelt & Calvin Coolidge. His career matched the final peak of Europe’s last great royal courts!
Crown Princess Cecilie of Germany, 1908
Prussian Palaces and Gardens, Berlin
Wiki
In 1892 he met Lucy Guinness, from the wealthy Irish Protestant banking family. They married in 1900, built a refined house in Pest, had 6 children, raised into the Hungarian nobility by Emperor Franz Josef, converted to Anglicanism and moved to Vienna.
Eventually he needed a bigger stage: Britain. From 1907 on, when he was based in London and joined the Royal Society of British Artists, de Laszlo’s career boomed. But the timing was problematic. As war with Germany and ally Austro-Hungary approached, de László needed to become a British subject to protect his sons from conscription into Hungary’s army. Citizenship came in 1914!
In Berlin, outbreak of hostilities in Aug 1914 saw wild demonstrations against foreigners. And in return, spy fever generated by WW1 placed many immigrants in Britain under suspicion. In May 1915 a German U-boat sank the Lusitania off Ireland’s SW coast, killing 1200 passengers and crew. The Times demanded internment of Britain’s c9,000 naturalised aliens, children excluded from schools and property taken. Thankfully P.M Asquith protected naturalised Britons.
de László was concerned for his family in Budapest, who depended on him for financial support. The Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs in London suggested he use the Dutch diplomatic bag because all ordinary post to Holland was censored. Although neutral, the Dutch were considered pro-German and closely monitored.
MI5 knew who was going in and out of de László’s studio, and they intercepted his mail. The case against him became more serious in July 1917 when a report, attributed to de László, revealed British maritime losses and mine production; that the king wanted the war to end; and that Alsace-Lorraine wasn’t worth fighting for. It suggested that de László was desperate to have his Hungarian nationality restored! Above all, they found, de László was a converted Jew with a wide social circle that included an entrée to British and German courts.
de László was grilled by Basil Thomson (Special Branch) and Vernon Kell (MI5) in Aug 1917. If MI5 couldn’t intern de László for pacifism, they might convince people that he’d abused the diplomatic bag, creating secret contacts with the enemy. So they sent de László to Brixton Prison in Sept 1917, until a nervous breakdown saw him freed.
The attitude to aliens in Britain worsened. In July 1918, Evening News called it "Enemy Alien Week"; a rally was held in Trafalgar Square; vigilante groups hunted for German spies. And negative attitudes to naturalised Britons didn’t alter with war’s end in Nov 1918. A newspaper editorial demanded to know what MI5 had unearthed on de László. & the case was debated in the House of Lords, May 1919! Nonetheless the case against the artist was still brought before the Denaturalisation Committee. His 5-day hearing took place in June 1919. The prosecution included Attorney General Sir Gordon Hewart while De László’s defence team included ex-Home Secretary, Sir John Simon. The 3-man committee took merely 15 minutes to dismiss the case.
Eventually he needed a bigger stage: Britain. From 1907 on, when he was based in London and joined the Royal Society of British Artists, de Laszlo’s career boomed. But the timing was problematic. As war with Germany and ally Austro-Hungary approached, de László needed to become a British subject to protect his sons from conscription into Hungary’s army. Citizenship came in 1914!
In Berlin, outbreak of hostilities in Aug 1914 saw wild demonstrations against foreigners. And in return, spy fever generated by WW1 placed many immigrants in Britain under suspicion. In May 1915 a German U-boat sank the Lusitania off Ireland’s SW coast, killing 1200 passengers and crew. The Times demanded internment of Britain’s c9,000 naturalised aliens, children excluded from schools and property taken. Thankfully P.M Asquith protected naturalised Britons.
de László was concerned for his family in Budapest, who depended on him for financial support. The Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs in London suggested he use the Dutch diplomatic bag because all ordinary post to Holland was censored. Although neutral, the Dutch were considered pro-German and closely monitored.
MI5 knew who was going in and out of de László’s studio, and they intercepted his mail. The case against him became more serious in July 1917 when a report, attributed to de László, revealed British maritime losses and mine production; that the king wanted the war to end; and that Alsace-Lorraine wasn’t worth fighting for. It suggested that de László was desperate to have his Hungarian nationality restored! Above all, they found, de László was a converted Jew with a wide social circle that included an entrée to British and German courts.
de László was grilled by Basil Thomson (Special Branch) and Vernon Kell (MI5) in Aug 1917. If MI5 couldn’t intern de László for pacifism, they might convince people that he’d abused the diplomatic bag, creating secret contacts with the enemy. So they sent de László to Brixton Prison in Sept 1917, until a nervous breakdown saw him freed.
The attitude to aliens in Britain worsened. In July 1918, Evening News called it "Enemy Alien Week"; a rally was held in Trafalgar Square; vigilante groups hunted for German spies. And negative attitudes to naturalised Britons didn’t alter with war’s end in Nov 1918. A newspaper editorial demanded to know what MI5 had unearthed on de László. & the case was debated in the House of Lords, May 1919! Nonetheless the case against the artist was still brought before the Denaturalisation Committee. His 5-day hearing took place in June 1919. The prosecution included Attorney General Sir Gordon Hewart while De László’s defence team included ex-Home Secretary, Sir John Simon. The 3-man committee took merely 15 minutes to dismiss the case.
Princess Beatrice, 1926
Royal Collection
Wiki
King Umberto II of Italy, 1928
private collection
Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), 1925
Royal Collection Trust
Unbelievably Philip’s career was not destroyed. In the 1920s-30s, this international, multi-lingual man was invited all over Europe and North America to paint the portraits of important royals, nobles and church leaders. Consider a few examples: Lord Richard Percy and Lady Diana Percy (1922, 1924); Queen Marie of Romania (1924); Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark (1925); Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and Lady Edwina Mountbatten (1925); U.S President Calvin Coolidge (1926); Randall Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury (1926); King Alfonso XIII of Spain (1927); Prince Louis II and Princess Charlotte of Monaco (1928); George Bell Bishop of Chichester (1931); Andrew Mellon (1931); and Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury (1932).
Archbishop of Canterbury, 1937
Lambeth Palace, London
He was widely respected, and elected president of Royal Society of British Artists in 1930. So see the portraits, catalogue and exhibitions in the de Laszlo Archive. And perhaps read Giles MacDonogh, To Frame a Painter | History Today, Feb 2021.
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22 comments:
It is rather awful that a country takes you in, offers you protection, and then turns on you. Of course it happened in many countries, least of all here, where people lost so much though totally innocent of any wrongdoing.
It shows how de László’s brilliant career was nearly derailed by wartime suspicion and anti-alien hysteria
I think I've never seen his beautiful works. So which galleries have the best collections of de Laszlo portraits now? Or are they mainly in private collections?
He was a very talented portrait painter. I especially like the close ups. It's too bad he he was the subject of society and the effects of war. Have a great weekend.
Andrew
in wars, authorities are always paranoid about enemy dangers, including secret spies. And Philip de Laszlo stood out in the U.K for some powerful reasons:
1. Austria-Hungary was one of the Central Powers, along with German and Ottoman Empires. Austro-Hungarian forces fought ruggedly against Allies.
2. Philip de László spoke Hungarian and German fluently. His English was excellent, but he had a clear Hungarian accent.
3. Pre-WW1, Laszlo was raised to the Hungarian nobility by Franz Joseph I of Austria
4. Even during the war, Laszlo kept corresponding with his Austrian family.
Yet no evidence of spying was EVER found.
roentare
I understand totally that the UK government and the military forces had to protect their own citizens against enemy forces. But de László was arrested and imprisoned, and only afterwards had his case heard formally in 1917 on suspicion of being an enemy alien etc. Why didn't they put him to trial first, _before_ gaoling him?
Deb
Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest and the British Royal Collection (in a dozen royal residences) seem to have the best public collections of Philip de Laszlo's beautiful portraits.
Unfortunately for us ordinary citizens, most of his 2,700 portraits are held in private collections. Since he became Pres of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1930 and VP of the Royal Society of Arts in 1937, I was hoping more of his works would be open to the public in the UK.
Erika
ART UK said: de László painted more royal sitters than any other painter in history and was first recommended to the British Royal family in 1898 by Queen Victoria's daughter in Germany. Then de László arrived in London with a solo exhibition (1907) at the Fine Art Society. The King and Queen attended, so de László was summoned to Buckingham Palace to paint their daughter Princess Victoria and then the other royals. This patronage cemented the artist's brilliant reputation in Britain (despite WW1 later on).
He lived an extraordinary life and was clearly a multi-talented man.
jabblog
many people in the world have a talent or two, but genius is very rare. Yet it seems that sometimes a couple of areas of true genius appear in ONE person - foreign languages, mathematics and art. With Leonardo Da Vinci we would have to add anatomy and engineering; in Albert Einstein's case, add music (violin).
With de Laszlo, in painting and foreign languages he was a genius. But I would add he was a very fine lecturer in art history. He also served brilliantly as President of the Royal Society of British Artists.
Hello Hels, As to where to find de László's works, there is a very interesting website, the Philip de László Catalogue Raisonné:
https://www.delaszlocatalogueraisonne.com/
Apparently there are 406 lost works, so it might pay to familiarize yourself with his style and then look out at rummage sales and the like.
Unfortunately, the catalogue does not allow searching by current location, but I searched for Cleveland, and found two de László paintings in the Western Reserve Historical Society of two famous Clevelanders, Myron Herrick and Ambrose Swasey. Herrick was the ambassador to France among many other distinctions, and Swasey was partner in the important Warner and Swasey engineering company. Incidentally, both of these men are represented in my collections. I have a book owned by Herrick with his bookplate, and a large sheaf of amateur photographer Swasey's own photos of his home and family on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland.
A search for Australia located sixteen works there--go to that website to see what they look like and where they are.
--Jim
Bom domingo e bom início de semana. Mais uma brilhante aula de história. Confesso que não conhecia a história dele. De uma coisa eu tenho certeza: ele era um excelente pintor. E as mudanças religiosas dele, me chamaram muito a atenção. Pena que no Brasil, dificilmente verei um dia alguma exposição, do maravilhoso trabalho. Grande abraço carioca e do Brasil.
Interesting artist who suffered with a nervous breakdown, but such a talented man, it's such a shame he had to move around within different countries to stay safe as I'm sure many others did in those times.
Take care, Hels.
Parnassus
Thank you so much for the the Philip de László Catalogue Raisonné. Its images are beautifully reproduced and the details are largely complete - name of sitter, material used, size of portrait, location of the work, provenance and some details of the work's history. People did a LOT of work building that catalogue!
The thing I found most difficult was that so many of the works were privately held and we don't even know the countries involved. Even the 16 that were identified as having an Australian connection lacked the information critical to any search - so far!
Luiz
I cannnot find any mention of de Laszlo visiting South America (not just Brazil), having an exhibition there or private collectors leaving Europe and taking their private collection with them to South America.
However de László did paint a portrait of Argentinian socialite Corina Kavanagh Lynch de Ham c1921, displaying her beauty. Her portrait highlighted her status as a prominent figure, famous for financing Buenos Aires' iconic Kavanagh Building.
Margaret
Travelling between countries can be exciting times, with new learning from the local artists, new languages, financial improvements, even marital opportunities that weren't available at home.
But de László paid a great price for his artistic success - gaol, court, mental ill health, being secretly followed as an enemy spy.
I have never heard of him but he sounds like he was an interesting bloke
History has always interested me. It amazing how people moved about.
Jo-Anne
interesting, well travelled, multi-lingual and very talented!
peppy
Except for war times, Europeans travelling across Europe involved easily reached distances, relatively cheap transport and was well equipped with hostels. Plus there was (and is) an expectation that students, academics and others would allocate a couple of years travelling, before they settled down in their permanent homes.
Joe and I worked and travelled across Europe for 4 years, starting in Israel and ending in the UK. We were accepted in each country, but not as warmly welcomed as de Laszlo was welcomed into Munich, Paris, London etc.
Olá minha querida amiga. Muito triste os últimos acontecimentos. Conte com minhas orações. Que todas essas pessoas que cometeram esses atos terroristas sejam encontradas e respondam por esse crime terrível. Meus sinceros e profundos sentimentos do seu amigo carioca e do Brasil. Que Deus traga consolo e conforto a todos australianos, que perderam seus entes queridos.
Luiz
Unlike citizens in other countries, gun ownership in Australia was officially controlled and almost banned in Australia since 1996. When all those people went to Bondi Beach to celebrate the most fun Jewish holiday every summer (Channuka), they might have already known about mounting anti-Semitic scrawl on school and synagogue walls. But they had no idea that gun-loaded terrorists would run up to the beach and start killing parents, grandparents, Rabbis and local residents.
No wonder Philip de Laszlo was afraid of anti-Semitism and converted to Christianity.
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