DE LASZLO: A Brush with Grandeur

by Sandra De Laszlo

Philip de László, following a meteoric rise to recognition in his native Hungary, settled in Britain in 1907 and became the leading portrait-painter in the country―taking over from Sargent. Marrying into the Guiness family, he painted members of almost every royal family in Europe and very many more of its Who’s Who. This book, the previous edition of which accompanied the first retrospective exhibition of de László since his death in 1937, illustrates a rich and representative selection of his work, drawn from a range of private collections, and, aided by stunning color plates, reintroduces this well-known but little studied artist to a wider public.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2004

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very easy on the eye, Philip de Laszlo's portraits captured the who's who of British aristocracy in what we now think of as the Downton Abbey years. Lady Mary would definitely had her portrait painted by him. Like his predecessor Sargent, he was a magician who created a better, more elegant version of reality for his clients. The book does full justice to his considerable powers as a portraitist.