Philip Alexius de László, PRBA, 
Hungarian / British 1869-1937- 
Portrait of William Spencer; 

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

Portrait of William Spencer; 

oil on board, signed, inscribed and dated 'P. A. de László / London / 1913 April' (lower right), 92 x 71.5 cm. 

Provenance: 
The sitter; 
and thence by family descent. 

Literature: 
Laib L6609(783)/ C25(8). 
NPG Album 1903-1914, p.16. 
Sitters’ Book I, f. 92: Wm Spencer / April 26th 1913. 
L. de László, 1913 diary, private collection, p.149. 
K. Field, ed., Transcribed by Susan de Laszlo, 'The Diaries of Lucy de László Volume I: (1890-1913)', de Laszlo Archive Trust, 2019, p.231. 
The de László Archive Trust, 'The Catalogue Raisonné of Works by Philip de László (1869-1937) [online]', no.111051. 

Note: 
William Spencer signed the artist's Sitters' Book in April 1913. According to the artist’s wife’s diary, de László was paid £105 for painting this portrait, the equivalent of some £6,000 and the same price paid by Admiral Beatty [2803] for a study portrait of his son [2422] later that year. According to descendants of the sitter it may have been commissioned to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. 

William Spencer (1861-1949) was from a small village in North Yorkshire called Lothersdale, and was an important member of the Lothersdale community.  The following details of his life are taken from K. Wilson et al, ‘The History of Lothersdale’, 1972:

‘The eldest son of Peter William was William, born in 1861, who was suddenly called upon to manage the business on the death of Peter William in 1883. The first day of his assuming responsibility William gave the order that any man sleeping off liquor and allowing his horses to return home without him would be dismissed. No one was dismissed!

William Spencer left his mark on the village in many ways: he was devoted to the village in the best Tory tradition, and, as years rolled on, the church was beautified and improved; the recreational needs of the community were nurtured, as evidenced in the good dance floor and modern amenities in the church hall; and the village club was built. The recreation ground and the sports field were also of his conception. All these things were done without the village ever feeling that it was being patronised, which certainly reveals the right spirit. The Spencer family has also transformed a bare valley by its devotion to planting trees.

William Spencer never lost his love of horses and, when business eased off a little, he once more joined the Craven Harriers, being Deputy Master from 1914-1927 and Field Master from 1928-1930, with Old Tobin as Huntsman, whom he used to ring up on a frosty morning to hear whether the frost had been 'ground' or 'hoar'. There is no doubt that William Spencer was a keen, hard businessman but was noted for his fairness and good judgement and often “helped lame dogs over stiles”. William's surviving child was Mary (May) who married Arthur Hayes.’

Image 4: de Laszlo Archive © de Laszlo Foundation