Philip Alexius de László, PRBA, 
Hungarian/British 1869-1937- 

Portrait of John Adolphus de László, the artist's son, in Scouts' uniform; 

oil on panel, signed and dated 'de László / 1926' (lower right), 53.3 x 32.4 cm. 

Provenance: 
Private Collection. 

Exhibited: 
Probably included in the artist's retrospective at the gallery of Messrs Robertson & Bruce Ltd, Dundee, 1932 (bearing inscribed label verso). 

Literature: 
The de László Archive Trust, 'The Catalogue Raisonné of Works by Philip de László (1869-1937) [online]', no. 13515. 

Note: 
The present work depicts John Adolphus de László (1912-1990), the youngest of the artist's five sons with his wife Lucy de László, née Guinness (1870-1950), at the age of fourteen. De László has painted his son in the distinctive uniform of the Boy Scouts, imparting this portrait with a more serious air than many of the earlier childhood portraits of John Adolphus, in which he is shown playing or dressed in fanciful historical costume. John's piercing blue eyes, directed at the viewer in an unwavering gaze, powerfully recalls De László's depictions of his wife, Lucy, with the present composition almost serving as a mirror of De László's 1902 portrait of Lucy holding a violin [no. 11474]. 
De László was primarily celebrated as a society portraitist, executing commissions for high-society and prominent contemporaries. The formality of these commissioned works contrasts with his more relaxed portraits of his family, imparting these paintings with a striking sense of intimacy and affection. 

Image four credit: de Laszlo Archive © de Laszlo Foundation.