Philip de Laszlo is one of my favourite portrait artists, he seems to have painted anyone who was anyone in the first part of the 20th century. His paintings have a quality that make them appear almost photographic. Fortunately he was active for a long period and so there are many of his portraits around and they are instantly recognisable.
This one of HM The Queen when a young child. The Queen remembers him as a very unpleasant man!
De Laszlo painted most of the crowned heads of Europe and his portraits still hang in either palaces or places of exile, they really are priceless. He may have been an unpleasant character but he was still in demand.
Mabel, Countess of Airlie, a great portrait and you just know from the painting, a lady of position and influence. She was in fact lady in waiting to HM Queen Mary and died in the 1960's. Her memoirs, Thatched with Gold are well worth reading as they give a wonderful insight into her world. The book has a dust jacket and this features the de Laszlo portrait of Mabel.
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